


Blackmail and Grudging Friendship

by Destiel_5eva



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, First Kiss, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, kind of slow burn, nerd!cas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2014-07-26
Packaged: 2018-01-18 06:11:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 33,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1417998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destiel_5eva/pseuds/Destiel_5eva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day that Dean Winchester would pick up a book and read it cover to cover would be the day that hell would freeze over. He’s said it once and he’ll keep repeating it until it finally sinks into Sam’s and anyone else who’ll try and persuade him to read, thick heads.<br/>Except, today is that day. Here’s how Dean finds himself lounging on his and Sammy’s threadbare couch in just a pair of ripped jeans, staring at the daunting paperback in front of him. He would do it. Cas was counting on him. Castiel had been blackmailed by their teacher into helping Dean complete his essay on the damn novel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to give feedback in the comments, I know I'm not the best writer out there, I'm probably down there with the worst...  
> Anyway, Enjoy!!

Dean hates English class with a fiery passion. He hates writing. He hates poetry. He hates his teacher; Mr Henriksen and he especially hates reading. So obviously he was not impressed when he received his schedule and saw that first period Monday morning is English. With a groan, he shoves his schedule into the back pocket of his jeans, shoulders his bag and shuffles off to class… but first he is going to do something else. Anything else.

Dean strolls through the halls without a care in the world. Jeans slung low on his hips, black tee pulled snug over his muscled chest and shoulders. He knows he looks good. Emerald green eyes, cropped, dark, blonde hair and a rockin’ body, what isn’t there to like? Rounding the corner he approaches a group of giggly cheerleaders. They surround an open locker. Lisa’s locker. Most are gossiping while others tweak their hair and over-zealous amounts of makeup. “Hello ladies,” Dean greets them with a charming smile. They instantly stop their chatter to gush and flirt back. Chests thrust forward suggestively, eyelashes fluttering. Dean barely gives them a second glance. “Lisa,” he acknowledges, propping his hand up against the bank of lockers, leaning against them casually. Lisa, the shorter brunette with chocolate brown eyes, flips her hair and gives him a smirk.

“Dean Winchester,” she replies with that smirk still firmly plastered on her face. Before Dean can reply a stern looking Mrs Harvelle storms down the hall towards them.

“Get to class!” she barks as she passes the cluster of eighteen year olds. A chorus of grumbled curses meet her request before the group slink away to class, Dean giving the teacher a cocky grin.

“Mrs Harvelle,” he beams, straightening up.

“ _Oh please_ , Winchester,” she huffs with a roll of her eyes. "Get to class."

***

Dean walks through the door of Henriksen’s English lesson, twelve minutes late, with a casual wave to the teacher who seems to hate Dean just as much as Dean hates him. Dean slips into a free seat in the back row beside his friend; Benny. “What’d I miss?” he asks, pulling out a tattered notebook.

“Weeell,” Benny drawls, chewing on the end of his pen, “Henriksen just finished his annual ‘I hate all your lousy asses’ speech and now he’s moving on to the shitty novel we all have to read.”

“Glad I was late then,” Dean replies resting his mud caked boots on the poor unfortunate persons chair in front of him.  

“Now class, I don’t know, or particularly care, if any of you have read this novel before,” Henriksen snaps. “But all you unmotivated fools will be reading _The Great Gatsby_ by F. Scott Fitzgerald.”

Dean groans. He doesn't read. Like at all. It looks like he is going to have to ask Sam what the hell the stupid book is about so he doesn’t have to read the damned thing. Even though Sam's only a freshman and looks about twelve, instead of his fifteen years, he’s read more books than Dean will ever read in a lifetime. “Do you have a problem with that, Mr Winchester?” Henriksen asks sarcastically.

“Yeah, Sir,” he replied, crossing his arms behind his head, “I don’t read.”

“Well, I hope that you like the idea of getting an F then,” Henriksen says with a mirthless smile.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Dean shoots back with a cocky grin. Henriksen begins to visibly shake with anger, one eyelid twitching and his hands curling into fists. Dean can’t help but bait the older man. It’s too much damn fun. The class is now fully attuned to the argument taking place between teacher and pupil.

“Get out of my class!” Henriksen bellows face turning red and spit flying from his lips.

“Cool, see ya Sir,” Dean quips, packing up his notebook and slinging his bag onto his shoulder. He walks to the door at a brisk pace, glad to be getting out of class.

“Just a moment, Mr Winchester,” Henriksen calls. Turning, Dean looks at the teacher over his shoulder, hand still reaching for the doorknob. “You should grab a copy of the book you _will_ be reading.”

Dean laughs and Benny snorts. “You’re funny, Henriksen,” he mutters as he grabs the doorknob eager to be rid of this stupid class.

“You will read this novel, Winchester,” Henriksen states calmly, seemingly regaining his composure.

“OK dude. There is no way in hell you are going to get me to read that book,” Dean states just as calmly, even though he really just wants to get the hell out of this class and away from this asshole of a teacher.

“Well, it just so happens that Mr Novak is available to chaperone you in the library every afternoon for an hour until you finish the book.”

All eyes turn to the blue eyed boy, sitting staring with a mix of shock, disbelief and anger at Henriksen. Up until this moment, Dean had never paid any attention to the nerdy boy with perpetually dishevelled brown hair. He doesn't even know his first name.

“Er… Sir, I-I can’t. I have… things I need to do. I can’t,” Novak stutters out. Dean’s eyes flick back to Henriksen, triumph written all over his face.

“Well, Sir it looks like, _no_ , you won’t be getting me to read the stupid book after all,” Dean remarks.

“Mr Novak, you will accompany Mr Winchester to the library if you intend to pass this subject. I know for a fact that your parents, or older brothers for that matter, would not be pleased if you failed to keep your straight A report card,” Henriksen says smugly, crossing his arms over his chest, to the chorus of “Ooooo’s” from the audience. Novak goes pale, so pale that Dean thinks the poor kid will faint.

“You can’t do that! That’s blackmail!” Novak says disbelievingly, a panicked note in his voice.

“What will you do about it, Mr Novak? Will you disturb your parents enough to request to change out of my class?” Novak’s face is all the answer Henriksen needs. Of course he won’t. Novak slumps down in his chair, anger and outrage on his face. Dean can’t help but feel a stab of pity for the poor boy. Henriksen is an absolute ass. Dean glares that his teacher, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You’re an ass, you know that Henriksen?” Dean can’t help but blurt. All eyes swivel from Novak to land back on him.

“Get out of my class, Winchester and be sure to turn up at the library this afternoon and every afternoon after that or you’ll be on detention every day until you graduate, that is, if you actually do graduate.” With that, Dean strides over to Henriksen, snatching the paperback from his hand before storming angrily out of the room, slamming the door as he does so.

*~*~*~*~

“So let me get this straight… Henriksen blackmailed you into watching that airhead jock _read a book_?” Kevin asks his best friend Castiel incredulously at lunch later that day. Castiel just stares at his PB &J moodily.

“Yes, Kevin, that is what I just explained to you,” Castiel replies angrily.

“Wow, what a jerk,” Kevin manages to spit out around his mouthful of cafeteria slop.

“I know and must you eat like some kind of neanderthal?” Castiel grimaces at a lump of mystery meat that lands just short of his elbow.

“Sorry Castiel,” Kevin murmurs swallowing. Castiel glares at his sandwich as if it has done him a personal wrong and not that dumb jock, Dean Winchester. It is a lie that Castiel has anything important to do that afternoon; he was actually going to the library anyway. But it's beside the point. He did not want to have to put up with that cocky, self-assured, green-eyed, well-muscled… “Castiel?” Kevin asks, swiping a hand in front of his friends face.

“What?” Castiel asks, zoning back in. No he was not thinking about Dean Winchesters well-muscled chest.

“I _said_ ‘Do you want me to come with you to the library so you don’t have to suffer alone?’” Kevin repeats finishing his slop. Castiel pushes his sandwich away from him, his appetite gone from worrying about this new predicament before answering.

“No, I think I should handle this alone, besides you have that project due… what was it?”

“My history assignment, translating those tablets.” Kevin groans, rubbing his face.

“Yes, that,”

“Oh don’t remind me,” Kevin moans from behind his hands. The bell to announce the end of lunch rings before Castiel has time to reply, standing, he hurries off to his next class; Biology. Thankfully it is a class without Dean Winchester. “Have fun at the library this afternoon, Castiel!” Kevin calls as he is thrust into the throng of students. Castiel rolls his eyes, dreading the afternoon with Dean Winchester.


	2. Chapter 2

“So, Dean, you going to your little study date with Novak?” Benny teases in the locker room of their last class of the day: Gym.

“I don’t know. Probably not,” Dean shrugs, shucking his tee over his head and replacing it with his gym shirt.

“You know, Henriksen will give ya that detention if you don’t show. Novak’ll run straight to the bastard.”

“I know!” Dean says frustrated. Slamming his locker shut, he storms into the gym, Benny trailing behind. They congregate in the middle of the gym, waiting for their teacher to arrive. Benny jokes around with another boy while Dean thinks about what he is going to do. Should he meet Novak? Should he ditch him? With an irritated sigh, he pushes the thoughts from his mind.

“Alright, you lot. I want five laps of the track as warm up! GO,” their teacher yells as he strolls into the gym. One by one, the students file onto the running track. Dean begins running immediately, it feels good to run. Pump his legs as hard as he can go, as fast as he can go, the air sawing out of his lungs.

As per usual, Dean finished his laps first, going to sit in the bleachers. Wiping the sweat from his brow and face with the bottom of his shirt, Dean surveys the rest of the class. A few of the athletic girls are actually finishing the laps, while some of the others are too worried about ruining their perfect makeup and walking. Benny and a couple others are crowded around someone. With a frown, Dean strolls over to the group. “Hey, watcha doin’?” Dean asks, peaking over Benny’s shoulder. On the ground is an Asian kid. He is curled up and whimpering.

“ _Kevin_ , was just saying that you had a date with Novak,” a tall boy, Adam sneers down at the boy. “We said that there was no way, you would ever date a _guy.”_ Dean glares at the tall blonde.

“So you decided to beat the shit out of him?” Dean fumes, pushing his way into the circle.

“Well… he was lying… and I thought…” Adam stutters.

“Piss off, Adam,” Dean tells the boy with a look that questioned his existence. Adam scampers off with his metaphorical tail between his legs. After that, the group disperses, leaving only the injured boy, Dean and Benny. “And why did you not do anything about this, Benny?” Dean asks, crouching down beside Kevin. “Hey, Kevin?” The smaller boy uncurls from his ball, looking around him warily.

“I’m sorry, Dean. It’sjustthatCastielsaidthatyouhadtogotothelibrarywithhimthisafternoonand…” Kevin blurts all at once leaving Dean confused and trying to understand what he’d just said.

“Whoa, slow down,”

“Castiel said that you had to go to the library with him this afternoon to read Gatsby because of Henriksen’s blackmail.” Kevin says, this time slower.

“Castiel?” Dean asks confused. Who names their kid Castiel? What kind of a name is that? A light bulb goes off in his mind. Novak. Castiel Novak. “Well, we should get you cleaned up,” Dean says, hauling Kevin’s small frame to his feet. Blood has dripped down from his nose and onto his shirt leaving a red smear. Kevin is also going to have one hell of a black eye tomorrow. Dean grimaces at the kid’s face. “Sorry about those idiots.”

“It’s OK. But are you going to meet Castiel this afternoon?” Kevin asks excitedly, shrugging off his injuries in favour of getting info out of Dean.

“Well… er… yeah,” Dean murmurs. Kevin’s face seemingly lights up at the news. He trots away, leaving Dean staring questioningly after him. “Well, he’s a bit…”

“Weird? Geeky? Schizophrenic?” Benny, unhelpfully, supplies, throwing a heavy arm over Dean’s shoulders. 

*~*~*~*

AP Biology was good, nothing but the quiet scratch of pens on paper and the drone of Mrs Harvelle’s voice. Castiel liked his AP classes best. There are no troublemakers, no nuisances, no one who didn’t want to work. Castiel is the good little student every teacher loved, the student who kept their head down and grades up.

Except, today, Castiel can't concentrate on the enzymes that make up the human endocrine system. He can still feel the prickly sensation that Dean Winchester’s eyes made on the side of his face. Those _green_ eyes. Castiel shakes his head, trying to refocus on his Bio.

It is impossible. Castiel can't do it. With a glance at the clock he almost laughed with relief. Five minutes until school ended. But his joy is short lived. That would mean he would have to meet dean Winchester in the library, in five minutes, ten at most. A vibration shocked him out of his thoughts. Throwing a covert glance at Mrs Harvelle, Castiel pulls out his phone. The screen displays the words: One New Message. Unlocking his phone he pulls up his text messages.

Kevin: **Guess what?!**

Castiel should have known it would be from Kevin. No one else ever texted Castiel.

Castiel: **What?**

Kevin: **I got beat up in gym. But DW said he’s gonna be @ library.**

Castiel just stares at the screen. Kevin got beat up… again. But, how does he know that Dean is going to be at the library? Dean wouldn’t have told him that. That boy has more pride than Adolf Hitler.

Castiel: **How do you know? ~~~~**

Kevin: **DW told me.**

Castiel: **How am I going to get him to read the book? He won't and Henriksen will fail me. Then Michael will kill me.**

Kevin: **DW needs money.**

The shrill ringing of the bell once again, saves Castiel from answering. Sometimes Castiel really didn’t want to know how Kevin knows so much about other people’s personal lives. Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Castiel throws his books into his bag while Mrs Harvelle yells out the homework to the retreating teenagers. “Don’t forget, your report is due Monday!”

Castiel hurries into the hallway. He needs to make a decision and fast. Pulling up at his locker he, adds his English stuff to his bag before finally deciding that it didn’t matter if Dean was going to the library or not. He already planned on going. With a decisive nod, Castiel bumbles along to the library.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean meets Castiel in the library for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if I don't update this regularly. I'd like to have a chapter up at least once a week.   
> Anyway, feel free to leave comments critiquing my writing, I'd love any advice you can give me :D

He knew he was late. But in his defence, why would someone know where the library is, if they never had a cause to use it? Pulling open the door he glanced inside. Air-conditioning and the smell of mothballs is the first thing that Dean notices. Sighing in relief, he stood in the doorway, revelling in the cool air. Walking in further, Dean scanned the shelves stacked with books, the tables with various kids doing last minute assignments, trying to find Castiel.

After two minutes of not being able to locate the dark haired boy, Dean was ready to leave. This was a waste of his time, besides he had work to do. Money wasn’t just going to magically fill his bank account. With a huff, Dean spins around to leave, coming face to face with piecing blue eyes, his breath getting caught in his chest. How had he never noticed those eyes until now? They were the bluest blue. Like the ocean, or the sky on a sunny day. “Er… hi,” Dean says, hoping his voice was clear.

“Hello Dean,” Castiel murmurs, taking a hesitant step back. “I was sitting over there,” he adds, pointing to a table tucked away in a corner, which was covered in notes and several textbooks. “You looked lost.” Dean nodded, still mesmerised by those eyes. Walking away, Castiel expected Dean to just follow him, like he did. Sitting down in a chair, Castiel began to clear away his textbooks, snapping Dean out of his trance. Putting his cocky and carefree demeanour back on, he grinned at the other boy.

“So, how long have you been here for? I know I was a bit late…” Dean says, pulling out the chair opposite him, to rest his feet.

“You were half an hour late. I didn’t think you were going to show up.” Castiel mumbled. Dean stared at him, before replying with a grin.

“Well here I am.”

“Clearly,” was all Castiel said, opening his copy of Gatsby. Dean laughed, causing Castiel to look up sharply. “What is so funny?”

“You.” Dean managed to gasp out once his laughter faded. Castiel just looked at him confused, his head tilted to the side, somewhat bird like. “Oh, come on Cas, lighten up!”

“Cas?”                        

“I thought that _Castiel_ was a bit of a mouthful,” Dean shrugged, leaning back in his chair, the picture of ease. “So, I think if you just explained everything about this book to me, it’d save as a heck of a lot of time and it’d please Henriksen. What’d ya say?” Dean proposes.

“No. You will read the book, Dean.” Castiel says, calmly, folding his hands on the paper in front of him, staring intently at his companion. In an instant Dean is in his face.

“Did you not hear the conversation I had with Henriksen? I. Don’t. Read.” Castiel is not intimidated. He has three older brothers who love nothing better than bossing him around and biting his head off for the smallest of things.

“I heard you. But if you don’t read this book, you will fail the class. And if I don’t get you to read the book, Henriksen threatened to fail _me_ after you left. My brothers will skin me alive, if I fail this class,” Castiel growls, sick and tired of this dumb jocks bullshit.

“Look, dude. I’m sorry that Henriksen is a douche. But I ain’t gonna read the book, “Dean says, standing up from the table.

“I’ll pay you… twenty dollars a day. I know you need money to fix your car,” Castiel throws, crossing his arms over his chest as he judges Dean’s reaction. Dean glares at him.

“How do you know that?” Dean spits.

“I have my sources.” They glare at each other for several beats, neither wanting to be the one to crack first. But then, with a defeated sigh, Dean drops into his recently vacated chair. Holding out his hand, Castiel drops the note onto Dean’s waiting palm. “Now, I expect you to read at least a chapter per day.”

What Cas doesn’t know, is that that twenty bucks isn’t going towards fixing the Impala. It was going towards, buying ingredients to make that night’s dinner for Sammy and him. Dean had a job; working at Singer’s Salvage Yard, but the couple of shifts he manages to get are barely enough to support the brothers.

John Winchester was, in Dean’s opinion, as useful as the mud on his boots. He was barely home and when he was, all he did was drink and yell and break stuff. Sometimes Dean would wish that the old fart would keel over with alcohol poisoning or something of the like.

*~*~*~*~

 

Castiel couldn't believe it. Dean Winchester was sitting in front of him, reading The Great Gatsby. Or, it looked like Dean was reading The Great Gatsby. His eyes moved over the page, but Castiel doubted that any of the literature was actually sinking into that thick head. “How are you enjoying it so far?” he asks, trying to surmount the growing tension.

“There are so many big words. I can barely understand any of it,” Dean grumbles, looking at Castiel over the top of the novel.

“Like what?”

“Supercilious, effeminate, fractiousness. Need I go on?” Dean says exasperatedly, closing the book and flinging it onto the table.

“Well, supercilious means arrogant or haughty,” A good word to describe you, Castiel thinks to himself. “And effeminate means, a man acting like a woman…”

“So a guy acting gay?” Dean cuts in, with a raised eyebrow.

“If you care to word it in that manner, then yes. Fractiousness is basically another word for irritation.”

“Oh.” Dean sits in silence staring at the table for a minute, lost in thought. Castiel stares that the boy opposite him, trying to figure him out. There must be more than meets the eye to Dean Winchester, if the barely concealed dark circles under his eyes and the tautness of his mouth are anything to go by. “Man, Cas how am I going to be able to finish this book, let alone write an essay on the damn thing? I can barely understand the language!” Dean says dropping his head into his hands in frustration.

“I’ll help you, Dean.”


	4. Chapter 4

“SAMMY!” Dean yells as he shuffles into their little craphole called home, two plastic shopping bags dangling from his arms. “SAM? Come help me put these groceries away!” He shouts, putting the bags onto the kitchen table. Grabbing out the carton of milk he takes a swig just as Sam barrels into the room.

“Aw Dean, don’t drink straight from the carton!” he whines, with a bitchface.

“Don’t give me that look. Help me put this crap away,” Dean smirks, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before putting the carton into the fridge. They worked in silence for a few minutes, putting away the meagre groceries that Cas’ twenty bucks provided.

“Did you get any apples?” Sam asks, once he finishes putting the block of cheese and two carrots into the fridge. Dean pauses, hand hanging in the air from where he’d just placed the box of cheap breakfast cereal in the pantry.

“Oh crap. Sorry Sammy,” Dean curses himself.

“It’s OK,” Is all Sam says as he throws the plastic bags in the trash, head down, disappointment clear in his voice.

“I’ll run to the grocer tomorrow and pick you up some, OK?” Dean hurries, ruffling Sam’s mop of dark hair, affectionately.

“Deeeean,” Sam whines, with a small smile, throwing a friendly punch at Dean’s arm.

“Hey!” Dean cries with mock outrage, grabbing his younger brother in a bear hug. “Hasn’t anyone told you to respect your elders?” Dean asks mocking hurt.

“Let me go you jerk!” Sam laughs, struggling against Dean’s arms. Releasing his brother, Dean crosses his arms over his chest, playing the part of the stoic parent.

“Have you finished all your homework, bitch?”

“Almost,”

“Well, you finish it, while I start making us some dinner, OK?” Sam heads out of the kitchen stopping at the threshold, seemingly debating within himself about whether to say something or not. “You OK, Sam?”

“Do you think Dad will come home tonight?” he asks timidly.

“I don’t know, Sammy,” Dean returns, sadly. It made him sad and angry that John Winchester could have the audacity to leave his two sons to fend for themselves while he drinks himself to the grave.

*~*~*~*~*~

When Castiel walks into his house, the sound of his brothers arguing doesn’t come as a surprise. Stepping into the kitchen, he drops his bag and heads to the fridge, ignoring Michael and Gabriel as they hurled insults at each other.

“This is the third time this week, Gabriel! Seriously, how hard is it to do just a little bit of homework once and a while? Do you think I enjoy having to listen to your teachers rant about you being a nuisance in their classes?!” Michael hissed.

“I don’t give a flying shit what those teachers think. I don’t care if they ring you up every day. I only have a couple more years then I’m done,” Gabriel bites back, slamming a fist down on the kitchen bench. Castiel watches their argument unfold in silence, crunching on his apple. This particular subject matter isn’t one that’s new. Gabriel is only in school because the law enforces it. Unlike Castiel, he doesn’t give a damn about his future.

“Why can’t you be more like Castiel?” Michael shouts angrily. “He does his work, gets good grades and stays out of trouble!”

“Castiel, the perfect little scholar,” Gabriel mocks, shooting a glare in Castiel’s direction.

“Hey, just because I intent to make something of my life does not give you the right to ridicule me!” Castiel buts in.

“Oh please, Cassy, we all know you’re just afraid you’ll be stuck with the rest of your dysfunctional family for the rest of your days,” Gabriel hurls back.

“Enough, Gabe!” Michael commands, wiping a hand over his tired and strained face. It’s been hard on Michael, having to raise the rest of the family whilst their father works away from home, only sending a generous allowance to the siblings and a phone call twice a month. Gabriel stalks out of the room silently, a door slamming closed a few seconds later.

“Well, that was entertaining,” Castiel remarks, pleasantly. Michael just stares at him in annoyance.

“Go do your homework Cassy,” Michael mumbles, retreating from the room as well.

***

Dinner was an interesting affair. Gabriel and Michael stared daggers at each other over the table while Lucifer and Anna argued over the last of the slices of pizza. “Luke, you’ve had like six pieces!” Anna cried, making a grab for the plate holding the last precious slice.

“So? I need it more than you,” Lucifer argues, snatching the plate back.

“Oh for God’s sake!” Michael curses, taking the plate for himself. “You two are worse than five year olds.”

“Says you,” Anna bites back, “We heard you and Gabe this afternoon,” casting a glare at said brother who was grinning evilly into his plate.

“CAN ALL OF YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR FIVE SECONDS?!” Castiel suddenly shouts, pushing back from the table, staring at his siblings, who were staring back, wide eyed. “All you ever do is fight! Can’t we just eat dinner like a normal family for once?” Castiel asks, throwing his hands up. Without waiting for them to reply, Castiel stalks away, up the stairs, making sure to slam his bedroom door shut. He knew it was childish, but he didn’t care.

*~*~*~*~

After dinner, Sam and Dean decide to watch a movie. Sam wants to watch something directed by Peter Jackson and Dean is happy to oblige. Dean settled into their threadbare couch whilst Sam fiddles around with the ancient DVD player. After hitting it in frustration a few times, inciting a laugh out of Dean, Sam finally gets the damn thing to work.

About half an hour into the movie, the front door bangs open, followed by some muttered curses and stomping. John Winchester was home. Sam and Dean immediately tensed. John stumbled into the lounge room reeking of alcohol. “What the fuck are you two doing?” he slurs.

“Watching a movie,” Sam replies timidly, standing up. Dean quickly joins his brother, placing an arm around his shoulders, protectively. Dean tries not to glare at his father. John just grunts, staggering from the room and up the creaking stairs, slamming his bedroom door closed. Once John is gone, Sam sighs in relief, the tension releasing from his small body.

“I think you should go to bed now, Sam,” Dean mumbles, walking over and switching the movie and television off, taking care not to scratch the disc.

“Yeah, OK,” Sam replies rubbing his eyes. “G’night Dean.”

“Night, Sammy.” Dean watches as his brother creeps up the stairs, careful not to wake their drunken father and lock himself into his own bedroom. Dean knew that John was a violent drunk. He’s been on the receiving end of one of John’s drunken fits of rage. He didn’t want Sammy to have to experience what he had to. John wasn’t a good father and Dean vowed that if John hurt Sam in anyway it’d be the last thing he’d do.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait. School's back in and I've been lazy.  
> Enjoy.

Once again, Castiel woke to the sound of a vicious argument between his brothers. Without opening his eyes, Castiel decided to listen for a second. Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer’s voices were slightly muffled, but otherwise understandable. Apparently Lucifer had only just gotten home after he left last night to, presumably, get drunk and laid. “LUCIFER NOVAK!” Michael roars, followed by a crash and smashing ceramic.

“Shut the fuck up, Michael!” Lucifer yells back. “You aren’t Dad, so stop acting like him!” Silence followed. Castiel sighs; silence is not a good sign in the Novak household.

Rolling out of bed, he thunders down the stairs in only a pair of worn sweats, not bothering with a shirt. The first thing he sees is a slim girl; peroxide blonde hair pulled into a messy bun and smeared make-up making her look like a raccoon. She was standing in the doorway to the kitchen in only a spaghetti strap singlet and frilly underwear. Castiel guessed she is Lucifer’s most recent lay. Pushing past the girl, Castiel saw his brothers. Gabriel is eating a bowl of lucky charms, watching the scene unfold in front of him with a morbid amusement. Michael has Lucifer pushed against the fridge, clutching a fistful on his shirt. “Go on hit me!” Lucifer taunts. He didn’t need to ask twice. Michael’s fist connects with Lucifer’s face, his head snapping sideways.

“Michael!” Castiel exclaims, racing to situate himself between his brothers. “Stop it, both of you!” Michael releases Lucifer’s shirt with a grumbled curse, walking over to the kitchen counter. Lucifer just grins at Castiel, the side of his face a slight red colour. He was going to have one hell of a shiner. Lucifer’s lay clears her throat, stepping into the kitchen, hands crossed over her chest. Lucifer walks over to her, slipping a hand down to slap her bottom, inciting a squeal. Castiel averts his eyes, feeling nauseous.

“She needs to leave,” Michael growls clenching his fists at his sides whilst simultaneously glaring at Lucifer. Lucifer ignores him, leading the girl up to his room, flipping Michael the bird on his way out. Once the two of them are gone, Michael slumps into one of the wooden chairs at the table, rubbing his eyes; stressed. Castiel walks over to the fridge, looking for the milk, there is none.

“Did you drink all the milk, Gabe?” Castiel asks, turning around.

“Yep, first in best dressed little bro,” Gabriel replies ruffling Castiel’s bed hair on his way to the sink to rinse out his bowl. Castiel sighs, grabbing a glass of juice instead before returning to his room to get himself ready for school.

*~*~*~*~

“SAM!” Dean calls up the stairs, holding a slice of toast in one hand and a spatula in the other. Sam isn’t a heavy sleeper, but he is certainly not a morning person. When Dean woke up this morning, bright and early, John was already gone which was fine with him. Life was better that way. Glancing at his watch, Dean cursed Sam, skipping up the stairs to pound on Sam’s bedroom door. “SAMMY WAKE UP!” A muffled groan answers him. Dean laughs, walking back downstairs. Dean has already had breakfast, showered and is sitting doing some cramming for a pop quiz he has, by the time Sam stumbles sleepily into the room. “Good Afternoon to you too,” Dean smirks sarcastically. Sam gives him a bitchface as he turns to the fridge to find something edible for breakfast. “There’re eggs in the microwave. I even made sure to drain away the oil and extra goodness just for you.”

“Thanks,” Sam replies, grabbing out the nearly cold eggs. Sitting down across from Dean at the breakfast bar/ makeshift kitchen table, Sam checks out Dean’s notes. “Er, Dean that formula is wrong,” Sam points out.

“Shit,” Dean curses, grabbing for a pencil to fix it. “What is it then?”

“A squared plus B squared equals C squared,” Sam says around a mouthful of eggs. Glancing over the rest of Dean’s notes Sam spots two more mistakes. “I thought you just copied these off the board?” Sam questions with a raised eyebrow.

“No, I copied these off Benny who copied them off Adam who copied them off the board,” Dean replies, concentrating on fixing his mistakes. Sam looks at him incredulously. "Or maybe it was... no it was definitely Adam who copied them off the board." 

“Wow.”

***

Castiel practically ran out the front door to catch the bus. He had barely shrugged on his trench coat when Michael shouted up the stairs for him, Gabriel and Anna to hurry up. Anna spent an hour and a half in the bathroom, doing God knows what with make-up and hair products, she left the room in a swirl of hairspray and sweet smelling odours that made Castiel cough.

Now he was sitting in his usual spot, waiting for Kevin to stumble into Chemistry right as the bell goes. Castiel was not disappointed. Right as the bell rings Kevin bursts into the classroom, books and sheets of paper clutched firmly in his arms, breathing heavily as if he was just running. He probably was, Kevin wasn’t a bad student, he just had trouble getting out of bed in the mornings. Kevin practically sprints over to his seat beside Castiel; dropping into it he shoots Castiel a smile dropping his books with a thump. “Now that Mr Tran has decided to grace is with his presence, we shall begin,” Mr Crowley states mildly.

Class passes smoothly and Castiel gathers up his textbooks after the bell rings like every other normal day except when he walks out the classroom door and sees Dean Winchester, Castiel is sure that today was not going to be a normal day. “Hey Cas,” Dean says with his usual cocky charm.

“Er… Hello Dean,” Castiel mumbles, attempting to continue on his way down the hall. Dean follows close behind. Castiel knows this because of the prickling sensation on the back of his neck. When Castiel stops at his locker, Dean leans against the one next to it casually, glancing at Castiel’s attire.

“Nice trench coat,” Dean comments.

“I’m going to ignore the sarcasm in your tone,” Castiel replies, piling his Chemistry stuff meticulously into his locker, grabbing out his English things.

“Hey I wasn’t being sarcastic!” Dean shoots back indignantly. “Anyway, I was wondering if we could take a raincheck on the whole English novel thing in the library, I have work.” Castiel pauses, looking over at Dean. He stands with an air of superiority over everyone else, but under that Castiel can barely see the hulking weight that rests on his broad shoulders. Dean is like a king; a king who never asked for the weight and responsibilities thrust upon him, but has to shoulder them anyway.

“Sure,” Castiel replies, staring into Dean’s guarded green eyes. “But you should still read another chapter, so you don’t fall behind.”

“Cool. Thanks Cas,” Dean smiles. A genuine smile that lights up his face and makes his eyes sparkle. Castiel feels his cheeks warm.

“Oh, er… Ok,” Castiel stutters, going back to picking things out of his locker. Dean turns to leave, but pauses as if he were going to say something, he settles on clapping Cas on the back before racing to join his snickering friends. Castiel risks a glance at him. As soon as Dean reaches his cluster of friends, a larger boy; Benny, slings an arm over his shoulders. Castiel sighs, it’s a shame someone like Dean chooses to hang around people like that. People who enjoy making other people feel bad about themselves. Castiel was sure that Dean isn’t like them, but then, Castiel barely knows the guy at all. Maybe it was time to change that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so terrible at updating his with any sort of system. Sorry!

“Dean, phone!” Bobby yells from his dingy office. Dean rolls and sits up from where he’s been stretched under an old Camaro.

“Give me a sec, Bobby,” he mutters back, wiping the grease and oil from his hands onto his jeans. Standing, he stretches out his back, feeling something pop. That can’t be good, he thinks to himself. Strolling into the office, he grabs the receiver from Bobby’s outstretched hand. “Hello?” he asks, leaning against the wall.

“Dean, Dad’s home and he’s mad,” Sam’s timid voice answers.  Dean straightens so fast Bobby jumps slightly, giving Dean a questioning look.

“Where are you, Sam? In your room I hope?”

“Yes. But Dad’s pissed about something, he’s thrown a couple beer bottles around in the kitchen… at me,” Sam says, his voice decreasing in volume to the point in which Dean has to strain to hear the last words.

“Shit!” Dean curses, running a hand through his hair. “Just hang on Sam; I’ll be there in five. Stay in your room! Lock the door!” Dean warns, slamming down the receiver in its cradle.

“What is it, Dean?” Bobby asks, concerned and rising out of his creaky, old chair, ready to aid Dean.

“It’s Dad. He’s drunk and pissed. I gotta go… Sammy…”

“Go,” Bobby says, understanding Dean’s urgency. It was no secret how John gets when he’s drunk. The violent son of a bitch has no qualms about taking out that violence on his sons.

***

Dean practically runs through the front door. John is slumped on the couch, muttering to himself. “How much have you had to drink?” Dean demands, stalking to stand in front of the older man.

“Not enough,” is the slurred reply, has John tips his bottle of whiskey towards his face. He misses his mouth by about an inch and the amber liquid runs down the front of his shirt. “Fuck,” he mutters, trying again.

“Stop it!” Dean growls making a grab for the bottle, John shies away, cradling the bottle to his chest. “Give me the bottle, Dad,” Dean demands.

“No!” the older man growls, glaring up at Dean. Seemingly unhappy with his position below his son, John stands using his one inch of height over Dean to glare down at him. “Go away and mind your own business Dean,” John seethes.

“Give me the bottle and maybe I will,” Dean counters, glaring right back.

The blow comes from nowhere. One minute Dean is in his father’s face and the next he’s falling on the coffee table behind him, hearing it crack and groan against his weight, barely holding together. Dean holds a hand to his face, feeling pain blossom around his eye socket and cheek. Getting to his feet, Dean glares defiantly at his father, not acknowledging the punch at all. They’re locked in a staring match, neither giving the other the satisfactory of looking away first. Eventually, John looks away; he glances to the floor, then back to Dean’s face before stalking out of the room. The front door slams shut a moment later. The only possession brought with him, his bottle of whiskey.

Dean sighs, bringing a hand up to gently prod his eye. A barely concealed sob spins him around. Sam is standing on the staircase, tears streaming down his face. Dean opens his arms and Sam flings himself into his brother’s embrace. Dean wasn’t the only Winchester who was going to have a bruised face the next morning. “He hit you too?” Dean growls against his brother’s head. Sam nods, taking a step back.

“One of the bottles got me,” he confirms, his voice raspy from crying. Dean sighs angrily, screwing his eyes shut and clenching his fists. Sam was the only thing stopping him from going after his father and making damn sure he’d never be able to hit either one of them again. 

“We should probably put some ice on that,” Dean murmurs, opening his eyes.

***

They spent the next few hours sitting on the couch, watching the news on TV, both brothers holding a bundle of ice to their face. The lingering smell of alcohol cloying in the room, cast a gruesome reminder of the fact that for as long as they live in this dingy little house; they’ll have to worry about their violent drunk of a father.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Castiel waited patiently for Dean to arrive for his session in the library. He called it a ‘session’ having no idea of another word that would suffice for the arrangement they have. Castiel had a doctor’s appointment and had arrived at school in the middle of the day; he hasn’t seen Dean since yesterday. He wondered if he did read the chapter or like the rest of his homework; left it to the last minute or didn’t do it at all.

Castiel was engrossed in his Biology homework when Dean slumped into the chair across from him. “Did you do…” Castiel begun, glancing up at Dean. His question died on his lips when he saw the black eye Dean was sporting. “What happened?” he asked instead. Dean gave him annoyed look.

“Just an accident at work no biggie,” he grit out, obviously having told that story numerous times that day.

“Oh,” Castiel mumbles sliding the twenty across the table, watching as Dean pulls out his novel and sheet of questions relating to the book.

“I don’t understand the reason behind having to answer fifty million questions about this dumb book when we have to write a damn essay too,” Dean grumbles, clearly changing the subject. Castiel goes with it, closing his Biology textbook in favour of his own novel.

“Well, Henriksen I believe is either a fan of torture or he wants to prepare us to write the essay by making us answer these questions to grasp a full understanding of what we’ve read,” Castiel replies, half joking.

“I’m gonna go with the first option. The torture,” Dean remarks, with a grin. Castiel would have grinned back if not for the way Dean’s smile made the bruising under his eye crease and bulge. “Stop staring at my shiner, Cas!” Dean demands, his grin turning to grimace.

“Sorry,” Castiel mutters, going back to reading his novel, he can feel Dean’s eyes on him still.

“So, what’s been happening in the life of Castiel Novak?” he asks, attempting to stall doing the questions that will inevitably done. 

“Nothing that will interest the likes of you,” Castiel replies, meeting Dean’s questioning stare.

“What do you mean ‘the likes of’ me?” Dean questions indignant. Castiel frowns.

“I didn’t mean anything by it Dean, I was just… never mind,” Castiel stutters, staring into Dean’s intensely green eyes. Dean leans forward, placing his arms on Castiel’s books in front of him.

“What’s up Cas?” Dean asks quietly; sincerely. Castiel sighs.

“Just family drama, you know?” Castiel says bluntly. Dean leans back casually in his seat.

“You have no idea.”

***

They worked in silence for some time, until it was nearly five o’clock at Dean was swearing that he had to get home to Sam. “Oh, I understand,” Castiel says plastering a fake smile to his face to hide his disappointment. In truth, Castiel enjoyed these little meet up’s in the afternoon. Dean was fun to talk to… about anything.

“I’m sorry Cas, but I really gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow?” Dean asks, hurriedly packing away his books.

“Yeah, of course Dean.”

“Great, bye Cas,” Dean calls over his shoulder as he speed walks away. Castiel stared after him, noting how well Dean filled out the worn jeans he wore. Wait, why was he noting that? Stop it, he chastised himself. Glancing down at his own books, he decided that now was probably a good time to leave as well. Sliding his thick Biology textbooks into his bag he made a neat pile out of his notes and slid them into a folder. Grabbing his copy of Gatsby, he noticed a sticky note shoved in the front cover. Curious, he pulled it out, his jaw nearly dropping at the three little words on the page:

Call me?  
Dean

And a phone number.


	7. Chapter 7

Dean hummed AC/DC under his breath as he cooked dinner for Sam and him. It was pretty unlikely that John would come home and disturb them; after all, it was Friday night. The sound of his cell ringing pulled him away from placing the pasta into the pot that was boiling on the stove. With one hand he, answered the phone and with the other tipped the bag of dry spirals into the water. “Hello?”

“DEAN!” Benny’s voice echoes into the kitchen. Dean nearly drops his phone in the pot in his haste to get it away from his ear before he goes deaf. “WHERE ARE YOU? I THOUGHT YOU’D BE HERE MAN!” Benny yells. From the volume of Benny’s voice there was no need to even put the phone on speaker.

“Stop yelling!” Dean complains, bringing the phone back to his ear. “And where are you anyway?” Dean asks, moving around the kitchen, placing the dirty dishes into the sink and wiping down the counter.

“Lisa’s party!” Benny answers, lowering his tone. “Why aren’t you here?”

“Gotta look after Sam and besides, I didn’t get an invite,” Dean countered.

“Oh, my bad. Lisa told me to tell you. So… I’m telling you now. Get your ass here!”

“Can’t Benny,” Dean replies.

“Can’t what?” Sam interjects, slipping into a chair at the breakfast bar, a book under his arm.

“Gotta go, Benny. Have fun without me,” Dean says cutting off Benny’s complaints.

“Can’t what?” Sam asks again, staring curiously at Dean.

“Go to a party.” Dean replies, straining the pasta into the sink, grabbing the sauce from the other pot on the stove he begins to serve up a healthy amount from himself. “Grubs up,” he says over his shoulder.

“What can’t you go?” Sam asks, grabbing a bowl for himself. “I can look after myself.”

“Sure, I know you can Sammy, I just don’t wanna go,” Dean says pulling up a seat amongst Sam’s textbooks strewn across the breakfast bar. “Can you clean this up later Sam?” He asks, diverting the subject from parties. Sam gives him the biggest bitchface from where he was scooping pasta.

“Dean, don’t change the subject, you can go to the party. I’ll be Ok,” Sam promises, coming to sit across from his brother.

“Yeah and what about if Dad comes home and I’m out?” Dean asks, violently forking a piece of pasta from his bowl. Sam doesn’t reply. “Exactly.”

*~*~*~*~*~

Castiel is working on the final touches to his History project when there’s a knock at his door. It wasn’t just Kevin who was having a hard time in that damned class. Spinning around in his chair he sees a glamoured up Anna. “Hey Cassie, are you going to come to the party? Gabe and I are about to leave.” she asks, walking over to the dresser mirror to check her hair and make-up for what is probably the hundred time this hour.

“No, I… have homework,” Castiel murmurs, turning back to his project.

“Aw come on, Cassie! Have a little fun every once and a while!” Anna shakes him lightly.

“No, I need to work hard to achieve the marks necessary for a guaranteed spot at Harvard,” Castiel preaches.

“You’re such a nerd,” Anna says affectionately, placing a kiss on his cheek. “We’ll be home around… soon,” she decides, flouncing from the room.

Once alone, Castiel allows himself to look at the sticky note again. Dean gave him no indication at all that he even enjoyed being in Castiel’s company. He mostly sat with his head down, occasionally giving Castiel a grin or cocky smile when he tried to make small talk. Emotions swelled within him like nothing he’d ever experienced before. Curiosity. Fear. Self-doubt. Excitement.

Just as he picks up his phone, Michael shouts from downstairs “CASTIEL, DINNER!” With a sigh, Castiel stalks from the room. Maybe he’ll work up the nerve to call Dean later.

*~*~*~*~*~

Dean checked his phone for what was probably the fifth time in two minutes. “Who are you expecting a call from?” Sam asks, looking up from his stack of homework. It seemed like everyone around Dean was obsessed with school work. What’s with that?

“No one,” Dean grumbles, going back to watching a documentary about sports cars. Not two minutes later checking his phone again, inciting an irritated groan from Sam.

“Seriously Dean, stop,” Sam moans.

“Oh go away, Sammy,” Dean mutters, throwing a pillow at the younger Winchester.

“Is it that Castiel guy?” Sam asks, feigning nonchalance. Dean looks up sharply.

“How do you know about Cas?” Dean demands. Sam, looks at him as if to say ‘really?’

“Everyone knows about Henriksen and that he blackmailed ‘Cas’ into… tutoring you,” Sam explains. Dean groans in misery. Did everyone know about that? Before Dean could reply, his phone buzzed with a text message. Excitement zinged through him at the thought of Cas texting him. The text read:

Castiel: **Hello Dean- C**

Dean couldn’t help but smile, only Cas would type out ‘hello’ instead of ‘hey’ or ‘hi’ his formality never wavering, even in a text message.

Dean: **Hey Cas**

The responding text took some time, almost as if Cas was having to think of a suitable reply to Dean’s two words.

Castiel: **How are you?**

Dean actually laughed out loud at his, earning him a confused look from Sam. Dean could tell that Cas didn’t text people often. It was kind of cute.

Dean: **I’m good. How r u?**

Again, Cas’ reply took some time.

Castiel: **I feel as though my family is trying to simulate its own little civil war. But other than that, I am fine.**

Wow, that’s a little deep. Dean wondered what in the world could be so bad that Cas felt the need to tell an almost stranger.

Dean: **What’s going on? R u ok?**

Castiel: **Gabe and Anna have returned from a party very drunk and have proceeded to vomit in the kitchen. On the floor. Michael is furious.**

Castiel: **Lucifer has another girl in his bedroom and they are doing unspeakable things. I can hear the bed banging against the wall.**

Dean stares at his phone incredulously for more than one reason. The first is; do all the Novak siblings have religious names? Lucifer, Michael, Gabriel, Castiel. The second is; it sounds like Dean isn’t the only one whose family is a little dysfunctional.

Castiel: **I’ve been enlisted to help clean up the mess and help my siblings ready for bed. They are currently blind drunk. Sorry Dean. I shall talk to you tomorrow?**

Dean: **Yeah Ok Cas. TTYL**

Castiel: **I do not know what TTYL stands for but I’ll assume it is friendly.**

“Are you ok Dean?” Sam asks, snapping Dean out of his reverie, staring at his phone.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dean mumbles noncommittally. “I’m gonna go to bed I think. G’night Sam,” Dean says eyes flicking to the clock on the wall and then to his brother.

“’Kay Night Dean,” Sam replies, going back to his homework.

“Don’t stay up too late,” Dean warns, padding towards his bedroom.

“I won’t,” Sam huffs.

*~*~*~*~

It was past midnight when Anna and Gabriel stumbled in the door. Michael pounced on them immediately. “I said to be home at midnight. It’s currently twelve thirty-five,” he fumes.

“Shhhh brother,” Gabe slurs, leaning against Anna so he stays upright. Castiel gets up from where he was slumped on the couch, padding over to the kitchen where Anna and Gabe were currently being interrogated by a furious Michael.

“How much have you had to drink?” Michael demands, slamming a glass of water down in front of each drunken sibling.

“Hmmmm,” Gabe considers. Anna giggles.

“I had… some beers,” Gabe says, taking a gulp of the water. Anna groans, clamping a hand over her mouth.

“I’m gonna…” she murmurs before vomiting all over the kitchen table. Gabriel stands up, disgusted. He puts a hand over his own mouth.

“Gross,” Castiel murmurs from his position by the doorway, phone out and replying to Dean’s text message.

“Uh oh,” Gabe mutters before adding his own vomit to the floor. Glancing at Michael, Gabe offers him a weak smile. “Sorry?”

“Castiel, help me get these two imbeciles ready for bed,” Michael says, his voice carefully schooled to hide most of his rage. “I’ll deal with them tomorrow… later on,” he amends, noting the time.

Castiel takes Anna’s hand and leads her towards the bathroom. It was going to be a late night.


	8. Chapter 8

Dean’s Saturday’s usually start with a shift at Bobby’s from eight til two, possibly longer if he can con Bobby into giving him some overtime, then he’d come home and hang with Sam and probably go out with Benny and the gang in the afternoon.

Dean rolls out of bed and trudges down the stairs to find a minefield of papers strewn everywhere. Dean stares at the paper blankly, his sluggish brain not comprehending what he was seeing. “Er… Sam?” Dean calls. Sam rounds a corner, arms full of paper and looking like he’s about to cry. Dean is awake in an instant. “What’s wrong Sam?” Sam sniffles, turning away from his brother, resuming picking up the paper. “Sam?”

“Nothing,” the younger Winchester replies.

“Sure, that’s why you look like you’re about to cry,” Dean points out, beginning to pick up papers.  “What is all this anyway?” Sam heaves a shaky sigh, going to sit amongst the papers in a corner.

“Dad came home,” Sam replies, as an explanation to the mess. Dean barely contains his growl of anger.

“Fuck,” he grinds out.

“Don’t worry about it, Dean,” Sam whispers, grabbing the last of the paper and neatening them into small piles.

“ ‘Don’t worry’?! Sam he can’t just come in here and… and do this!” Dean exclaims, gesturing to the paper in front of his brother. “You worked hard on… whatever this is and he’s just gone and fucked everything up!”

“DEAN! It’s Ok!” Sam shouts, standing with his hands on his hips, levelling a bitchface at the older Winchester.  “Just don’t worry about it, please. Dad said he was gonna be back tonight and he expects dinner,” Sam says wearily. Dean sighs angrily, swiping a hand through his hair.

“Of course he fucking does.”

*~*~*~*~*~

Castiel tried to stay in bed for as long as possible once the sun rose. He knew Michael would be fuming and Anna and Gabe will have the hangovers of the century. Glancing at the alarm clock on his bedside table Castiel sighed wearily when he noted it read 9:37. Michael will be in any minute to rouse him, even if it was Saturday. Apparently he has something against sleeping in. Rolling out of bed he grabs a tee from the pile of clothes on his desk waiting  to be put away, before trudging downstairs.

Michael stood, glaring at two very remorseful looking siblings. Anna has her hair in a messy bun and Castiel’s failed attempts at removing her make-up has left her with mascara smeared around her eyes. Gabriel looks no better, his hair a mess of tangles and vomit still stained his shirt. Michael apparently couldn’t be bothered to help him change out of the clothes from a few hours ago. Hesitantly, Castiel entered the kitchen, casting an apologetic look at Anna and Gabe. “Castiel,” Michael greets with a slight nod. “If you could please go retrieve Lucifer from his room I request a family meeting.” Castiel shoots him a horrified look.

“But… he has a girl in there and they’ve been… you know,” Castiel stutters, shaking his head vigorously.

“Stop doing that Cassie, you’re making my headache worse,” Gabriel moans, dropping his head into his hands, elbows resting on the table.

“Just… do as I say, Castiel,” Michael orders trying and failing to keep his anger from being taken out on the one sibling who hasn’t done anything wrong.

“Fine,” Castiel groans. “But you owe me,” he mutters. Treading lightly up the stairs Castiel tries not to imagine the worst scenarios he could possibly walk into. Knocking on Lucifer’s door he waits, tapping his foot nervously, for any sign of life. When there is none, he hesitantly tries the knob. It’s open. With a grimace, he opens the door slightly, barely enough to stick his head in. “Lucifer?” Still no reply. Opening the door wider, he risks a peek inside.

Inside, Lucifer and some random girl with raven hair are tangled in a mess of sheets and limbs, sleeping soundly. Castiel represses a shudder, lord knows how he deals with the inevitable sadness and anger via the women he uses every night. “Lucifer,” Castiel says again, louder this time. The two bodies barely twitch. Gritting his teeth, Castiel steps into the room, walking over and shaking his brothers arm, rousing him.

“What the…” Lucifer grumbles, his eyes snapping open. “What the fuck are you doing in here, Castiel?!” he growls. Castiel suppresses his flinch of fear at the glare and tone of his elder brothers voice.

“Er… Michael requests a family meeting,” Castiel murmurs, keeping his eyes trained on his feet, studiously ignoring the half-naked girl wrapped around his brother.

“Fuck,” Lucifer groans, flopping back on the pillows. This is the point where the girl wakes and mumbles.

“Is this Castiel? He’s cute,” And he makes his hasty escape before Lucifer can reply.

*~*~*~*~

Dean couldn’t get the look on Sam’s face out of his head. Even as he worked on a ’70 Corvette. With a frustrated growl, he threw the wrench into the open tool box by the front right wheel. “What’s wrong with you?” Bobby mutters, wiping his grease stained hands on a rag as he strolls over.

“Nothin’” Dean mumbles, leaning against the side of the car.

“Bullshit,” Bobby says, crossing his arms over his chest, waiting for Dean to hurry up and spit out what’s on his mind.

“It’s Sam… and dad. Who am I kidding it’s always dad. He destroyed Sam’s project or something that he was working on. I woke up to him collecting all the papers that the ass had chucked everywhere. Plus he expects me to make him dinner tonight before he inevitable fucks off again.”

“Balls,” Bobby curses, coming to stand directly in front of Dean.

“Mmmm, I don’t know what to do, Bobby. Sam said not to worry about it, but the poor kid was nearly crying, I feel like a shitty excuse for a brother cause I can’t even make sure that dad doesn’t fuck up all the hard work he puts into his school work and crap,” Dean rants, throwing his hands around to emphasise his point.

“Dean, you can’t watch over Sam twenty-four seven. I know your old man is a piece of work and I know you try your best to make sure he doesn’t hurt Sam. Hell, you’ve practically raised the boy. You can’t be there all the time, Dean,” Bobby reasons.

“Yeah, well, my best isn’t bloody good enough. One day the he’s gonna come home and hurt Sam real bad and I’m not gonna be there to protect him,” Dean states, slapping his hand against the door of the Corvette before stalking from the garage, leaving Bobby staring worriedly after him. Bobby can see that Dean is working himself half to death to give Sam every possible opportunity he can to become the lawyer he dreams to be. But what’s going to happen when he works himself too hard?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay another chapter! I was feeling inspired to write... Ok I was really just procrastinating but whatever. Give me a cheer! *crickets chirping* yeah no.   
> ANYWAY you may (or may not) have noticed that I have tagged 'implied/ referenced homophobia'. You may (again, may not) be wondering why. Well, this story may be getting a little more deeper than I originally thought. And it's strayed a lot from the original idea I had, but that's ok. I hope. But don't worry I intend to chuck in some fluff in the next chapter. 
> 
> Thank you all for reading. It really does make my day to see comments. *cough* *cough* I'd love to hear your thoughts on the direction this fic is taking.

Castiel walks into English with a feeling of hope and pride in himself. He and Dean have been meeting every school day for over a week now and Dean is finally able to understand some of the concepts in the novel. Sliding into his seat he glances about the classroom, there are a few students milling about desks, most like him; nerds who actually like English. But right at the back, Lisa Braeden and her posse of cheerleaders are sitting on the desks, talking animatedly about hair products or something.

 

Approximately one minute and thirty six seconds before the bell that signals the beginning of class is to ring, Dean and his groups of friends enter the room. Castiel looks up from re-reading Gatsby, hoping to catch Dean’s eye, a hopeful smile on his face. Benny Lafitte and Adam Milligan are standing on either side of him, Benny-- as per usual--  with one arm thrown haphazardly across Dean's shoulders. They’re all laughing about something as they make their way to the back of the classroom; to Lisa. They completely ignore Castiel. The smile gradually falls from Cas’ face and he once again returns to his reading. That is, until a shout breaks out over the commotion their entrance created. “Hey Cas!” Dean calls, giving a wave. Castiel waves shyly back, his smile growing. It’s in that moment Mr Henriksen strolls into the room.

 

“Alright peasants, quieten down, it’s class time, not socialising time,” Henriksen barks, dropping his notes and things on the desk at the front of the room with a loud bang. A moment of silence follows. “Winchester!” Henriksen announces with a sadistic smile on his face. “I see you have been attending the arrangements made with Mr Novak.” Castiel feels warmth travel up his neck.

 

“Yes sir,” Dean replies, sarcasm practically dripping from the word ‘sir’. Some of the students snicker.

 

“How have you liked the novel so far?” Henriksen asks mockingly.

 

“It’s very interesting, sir,” Dean replies. Castiel is finding it increasingly difficult to not turn around in his seat to glance at Dean. Especially when he can feel his eyes boring holes into his back.

 

“Oh so you won’t have any trouble achieving a passing grade in the essay that you will have to write?” Henriksen asks, making his way towards the boy.

 

“No sir, with Cas’ help I’m gonna get an A,” Dean replies confidently, not intimidated at all by the teacher standing mere inches away from him wearing a glare that could make a grown man cry. 

 

“I’m sure you will, Dean,” Henriksen replies, disbelievingly. “You have your work cut out for you, Mr Novak.”

 

*~*~*~*~

 

Dean hates Victor fucking Henriksen. Has he mentioned that? Well he is now. The guy is the biggest fucking douche that was ever put on this earth. As the guy turns around, Dean can't help but flipping him the bird. Benny and Adam burst out laughing, causing the douche to spin around, pinning them with his signature glare. "Something funny boys?"

 

"Nope," Benny grins.

 

"Didn't think so," Henriksen snaps.

 

***

 

Once the bell signalling the end of the period blessedly rings, Dean watches as Castiel begins to slowly pack away his things. He is the only kid not jostling to escape the classroom. Dean smiles a little at this. A thump on his shoulder alerts him to Benny's presence, "Brother, you comin' or what?" He asks, noticing Dean staring at Cas. "Hmmm I knew there was a reason you actually went to them little… sessions after school." Dean shoots him a look as he scoops up his binder.

 

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Dean asks defensively. They walk side by side out the classroom.

 

"You like him," Benny drawls, pitching his voice low as to discourage eavesdroppers. Dean narrows his eyes.

 

"He's a good guy, why would I not like him?"

 

"You know what I mean Dean. I know you," Benny says sincerely. Dean sighs.

 

"Is it really that obvious?" Dean whispers with a grimace. The last thing he needs is his questionable sexual orientation spread all over the school. Only Sam and Benny knew that Dean wasn't totally 100% straight. Sam was Ok with it, he loved his brother no matter what. They've been through too much shit for something as insignificant as Dean being Bi to tear their extremely close-knit bond apart. As for Benny, he was Dean's oldest friend, nothing could deter the guy from Dean.

 

"No, but like I said, I know you," Benny answered. "Alright, enough with the lovey dovey crap. Lets talk about manly stuff; wrestling, cars, football!" Benny exclaims. Dean laughs at his friends abrupt change of subject. He'd be lost without him.

 

Both guys begin traipsing down the hallway when a shout and the sound of a body being thrown against a locker draws Dean up short. Spinning around he finds Castiel being pinned to the row of lockers by Gordon. Gordon is up in Cas' face grinning maliciously. Castiel's books are jammed out of his death grip, they hit the ground, notes scattering.

 

Dean sees red and before he can even comprehend what he's doing he's crossed the hallway and is hauling Gordon away from Cas. Gordon yanks himself out of Dean's grip, grin still firmly in place. "Watcha doin' Winchester?" he asks cockily. Dean swings, his fist connecting with the other boy's jaw. In seconds nothing can be heard over the chant of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" But Dean can barely hear it. All the anger at his father and worry and emotions he's been bottling up inside him are being released into Gordon. Adrenaline pumps through him, quieting everything to just the thrum of blood rushing in his ears. A blow catches him in the stomach, but he barely feels it, quickly retaliating with a swift uppercut, catching Gordon in the chin, forcing his head to snap to the side. Blood pours from both their bloodied fists and cuts on both their faces.

 

The fight lasts mere minutes before Benny is hauling Dean away from Gordon. Through his adrenalin haze he barely notices Cas cowering against the lockers, fear and anxiety written all over his face. "Let me go, Benny!" Dean growls, struggling in the larger boy's grasp.

 

"No Dean! You need to calm the fuck down," Benny  curses.

 

"I am calm! Please I just gotta see if Cas is Ok!" Dean pleads. Something in his voice must convince Benny that those are his real motives because the iron grip on his arms loosens enough for him to slip out. Now that the fight has been split up, the bystanders have scattered, leaving only Cas and his weird friend Kevin to pick up his books. "Cas are you Ok?" Dean asks worriedly, dropping down beside him on the floor, lifting a hand to check the boy for injury. Before his fingers brush Cas' face, he moves away, not looking at Dean.

 

"I'm fine," Castiel murmurs, moving even further away from Dean. Hurt briefly crosses Dean's face, his heart twisting a little at Cas' stoic manner.

 

"Ok… good," Dean replies uncertainly. At that moment an announcement echoes over the loud speaker.

 

"Castiel Novak, Gordon Walker and Dean Winchester please report to Head Master Harvelle's office. Immediately,"

 

Castiel lets out a shaky sigh, thanking Kevin for his help before hurrying away from Dean and Benny. "Good one, Brother," Benny dryly states before leaving Dean squatting in the hallway staring at the empty corridor.


	10. Chapter 10

Castiel feels humiliated and guilty. He sits in his corner of the library waiting to see if Dean will actually show up. The three boys had sat and listened to Mrs Harvelle scold them for fighting. Long story short; parents were called, detentions handed out and then they were free to go. The look Michael gave Castiel was filled with disappointment and he grounded Cas for three weeks. Castiel would gladly take his punishment over what Dean faced. His father walked in, drunk as a skunk, clipped Dean over the head and threatened Dean to "watch out because if these pansy ass do gooders weren't here he'd be getting' the floggin' of his life." No matter that Mrs Harvelle explained that Dean was sticking up for Castiel. All it came down to was that Dean threw the first punch and that was enough for John Winchester.

 

After a good ten minutes of waiting for Dean to show, Castiel pulls out his phone, typing a quick text.

 

Castiel: **Are you OK?**

 

Castiel hits send just as the doors to the library swing open and Dean enters, looking slightly worse for wear. Redness covers a good portion of his face which, given a hours, will form into bruises and his lip is split in two places. His knuckles sport four Band-Aids over the splits made from punching Gordon's head in.

  
Dean pulls out his phone, letting the door shudder closed behind him, presumably reading the text Castiel just sent. Castiel can't help but wait animatedly for Dean's reaction. He holds his breath. Dean's frown soon morphs into a smile, quickly typing out a reply before strolling over to Cas. "Read it," he mumbles once he reaches Cas' table.

 

Dean: **Of course. Wanna go get a coffee?**

 

Castiel can feel the blush form over his cheeks. His earlier humiliation at Dean having started a fight for him, vanishing. Was Dean asking him out? His brain is having trouble comprehending the possibility of Dean actually wanting to go get coffee with him, Castiel Novak the socially awkward nerd. "Really?" he asks, dumbfounded.

 

"Well, only if you want to," Dean replies shyly. Castiel lights up, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he grins.

 

"Of course I want to," Cas declars, sweeping his books into his backpack. Dean lets out a bark of laughter at Castiel's enthusiasm.

 

"Let's go then."

 

***

 

They walked out to Dean's car; a shiny black Impala. Castiel gapes. "This is your car?" Castiel may walk to school every day and know absolutely nothing about cars, but he isn't that stupid. He knows a beauty of a car when he sees one. Dean looks at him appreciatively.

 

"Well, technically she's my dad's but I couldn't risk his drunk ass wrapping her around a tree now could I?" Dean says, patting the hood of the car lovingly. Castiel nods once before slipping into the passenger side. Dean pulls out of the student lot, rolling the windows down and blasting Led Zeppelin. Castiel sits comfortably, staring out the window to stop himself from staring at Dean. Especially when Dean begins to sing along to the music.  "I gotta roll! Can't stand still, gotta flamin' heart, can't get my fill!" Dean sang, a smile on his face. Castiel couldn't help his amused snort. "What? Don't like my singin' Cas?" Dean asks, mocking hurt.

 

"Your singing is great Dean, I'm sure those people in the car across from us enjoy it too," Castiel replies sarcastically with a flick of his wrist to the mentioned car.

 

"Har har," Dean answers with a roll of his eyes, although he does turn the music down and settles for tapping the steering wheel to the beat. Castiel is grateful, as much as he enjoys Dean's company he really could do without his singing. Let's just say that that is the least appealing quality about the other boy. 

 

*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Dean couldn't believe his luck when Cas agreed to his offer for coffee. He'd been trying to work up the nerve to ask him for days now as it had been shockingly clear that Cas wouldn't be the one to make a move. They'd been texting constantly over the past week and Dean felt that today would be the day to make his move. The little chat with Benny also helped to settle his nerves as well.

 

They pulled into a parking spot a short walk from the coffee shop. This particular shop held a special significance in Dean's heart. 'The Roadhouse Diner' was one of the places John Winchester would take his sons on his good days. Days where he wasn't blind drunk; days where he'd have enough money to provide a decent meal for his kids, even if it was diner food.

 

Dean opened the door to the pokey little shop, letting Cas walk in before himself. The sound of the little bell on the door jingling alerts the barista to customers. She looks up from fiddling with the coffee machine, a smile on her face. "Well if it isn't Dean Winchester," she announces with a cocky grin.

 

"Hey Jo," Dean replies, "This is Cas, a friend from school," Dean introduces strutting up to the counter, resting his arms on the cool top.

 

"It’s nice to meet you," Cas says politely, offering his hand for Jo to shake. She grips it firmly, raising an eyebrow at the formalities. Dean snickers at the exchange.

 

"So what can I get you two?" Jo asks, releasing Castiel's hand.

 

"Coffee-- black," Dean answers, looking to Cas.

 

"Do you serve tea here?" Cas asks with a small frown-- barely a crease between his eyebrows.

 

"Yeah, you'd be the first person in like months to order one though. We have er…" Jo ducks under the counter for a moment, leaving Cas staring questioning at Dean. He just shrugs. "Aha!" Jo pops back up holding a laminated piece of paper. "We have… apparently only Dilmah tea, but there are  like twenty different one's to choose from," Jo hands Cas the paper to make his choice. She wasn't joking there were at least ten varieties of tea just under the heading 'green'. Dean gaped.

 

"People actually drink this shit? Strawberry? Really come on," Dean uttered.

 

"I'll try the…" Castiel is cut off by Dean's cry of alarm.

 

"Toffee Banana what the fuck?! Oh sorry, go on." Dean apologises after receiving Cas' look of annoyance. Jo just smirks at the two of them, shooting Dean a knowing look. "What?"

 

"Nothing," she replies nonchalantly.

 

"I'll just have the normal green tea thanks," Cas mumbles, finally.

 

"'Kay, go take a seat and I'll bring 'em out in a minute," Jo promises, taking back the list of teas.

 

***

 

Dean slouches across from Cas in a booth off towards the side of the café. Dean watches Cas as he glances around. There aren't many tables inside, most are outside and currently there is only one other customer in the diner. Inside the air smells of coffee and air freshener, it's a pleasant smell. The booths are made of a worn brown leather and every table top is decked out in a red and blue checked tablecloth. "So… you don’t drink coffee?" Dean asks, trying to ease the tension. Cas shakes his head.

 

"No, I don't like the high caffeine content and I find that tea eases my nerves." Dean doesn't know what to say to that. Thankfully Jo arrives with their drinks. "Thank you, Jo."

 

"No problem-o, enjoy them," she winks, before returning behind the counter.

 

"She's nice," Castiel comments, taking a sip of his tea.

 

"Yeah, you know she's Harvelle's daughter?" Dean asks, gulping down his coffee, before choking it back up and spitting it into his cup. "Holy fuck that's hot." Castiel purses his lips in an attempt to stop himself from laughing. "Do not laugh!" Dean demands, flapping a hand before his mouth, trying and failing to ease the burning sensation in his mouth. Castiel tries, he really does. But Dean looks ridiculous flapping his hand about and swearing under his breath. Castiel's laugh starts as a giggle but before he realises it he's choking on his laughter, causing Dean to grin and laugh along with him.

 

The afternoon was one of the most relaxed and carefree Castiel has had in a long while. But this is all shattered when Dean receives a text from Sam.

 

 Sam: **D** **ad's home and he's pissed. I'm locked in my bedroom. Hurry home. Please**


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little warning: there's violence towards the end of the chapter. I'm sorry if it's straying really far from the fluffy stuff I had originally planned. I promise to get back to it! Only a couple chapters of the sad stuff. Enjoy!

"Cas I gotta go," Dean says hurriedly, slipping his phone back into his pocket and fishing out a couple of dollar bills for the coffee.

 

"What? Why?" Cas asks, concern marring his words. "Is everything Ok?" he asks, standing.

 

"Er… yeah. I'll text ya later Ok?" Dean asks, already halfway to the door.

 

"Sure," Cas murmurs, trying not to let his disappointment at such an abrupt ending to their… date, no not a date, show.

 

"Thanks Cas, I'm really sorry," Dean shouts over his shoulder, practically racing out the door, the bell jangling loudly after him. Castiel stares at the door for a moment after Dean left, confused and worried about what could have been so important that had Dean that panicked. 

 

"I'm sure everything is fine," Jo says from behind Cas. At the sound of her voice Castiel nearly jumps a foot in fright.

 

"Yeah, of course," Cas says but he can hear how flat that reassurance sounds.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Dean peels out of the lot not caring about the abuse Baby's tires are receiving. His father was home and if he didn't get there, he'd take out his anger at being called into the school on Sam. The drive from the café to their crumby little house took five minutes. Enough time to have Dean nearly out of his mind with worry. "Please God, let him be too drunk to do anything. Please," Dean pleads.

 

His strides up to the front door are jerky; a half jog. Opening the door, he greeted with the sound of the TV. Quietly, Dean creeps through the pokey little kitchen to the living room. Where he finds John sprawled in the couch. Dean lets out a barely audible sigh of relief. God must have heard his prayer. Holding his breath, Dean steps through the living room to the stairs, being extra careful to avoid the squeaky spots, Dean takes them two at a time. Reaching Sam's door he knocks and informs, "Sam it's me." The door flies open and he's yanked inside by the front of his shirt. Then he's got two arms wrapped firmly around his waist.

 

"Thank God," Sam says in a hushed whisper.

 

"Yeah," Dean replies, sending a silent thanks to the big man upstairs. "Tell me what happened, he didn't hurt you did he?" Dean demands, holding Sam at arms length and checking him for injury.

 

"He walked in and yelled at me to come downstairs, I didn't reply then he came up here and started banging on the door saying that when you get home he's going to 'rip you a new one for what you did' if I don't come out. What did you do, Dean?" Sam asks fear in his voice.

 

"Started a fight with some dick who was picking on Cas," Dean answers, still gripping Sam's shoulders firmly.

 

"Deeeeean," Sam whines.

 

"Hey, you woulda done the same thing and… I think you should stay at a friends house tonight," Dean decides, leaving no room for argument. Sam simply nods.

 

"I don't think so," a voice says from the door. Both brothers whip around to find John standing in the open doorway. "Both of you useless pieces of crap are staying here…"

 

"No Sam is going," Dean says defiantly, turning so that he is shielding Sam from their father. John clenches his fists at his sides, his face impassive.

 

"Do NOT interrupt me," John yells moving to stand inches from Dean. Sam grabs onto Dean's hand, holding it tightly. "Both of you WILL STAY HERE. You will NOT have dinner. You will NOT leave your rooms and if I hear even a whisper from either of you there will be hell to pay," John commanded, his voice lowering to a whisper as he got to his final words. "Dean come with me, now." Glaring, Dean does as he's told, shaking his hand free of the death grip Sam has on it and leaving him standing alone in the room. John thunders down the stairs, expecting Dean to follow. He does, throwing what he hopes is a reassuring smile at Sam, but it ends up coming out as a grimace.

 

***

 

Once in the kitchen, John paces. Dean stands to attention by the doorway to the living room. "What were you thinking?" John demands quietly, fury evident in his voice.

 

"Walker was bullying a kid that does no harm to anyone," Dean replies, willing his voice not to shake with the terror that's swirling around in the pit of his stomach.

 

"Who cares?! It does not concern you!" John bellows, getting in Dean's face again.

 

"I care," he replies defiantly.

 

"Why? I've never heard you talk about this… Castle or whatever the fuck his name is, before."

 

"It's Castiel and you would if you were ever home and sober enough to give a shit and listen to us. When was the last time we sat down and had a proper meal as a family? Talked? Hell even watched fucking TV together? Huh? You don't give a shit about us!" Dean's voice was growing more confident and impassioned with each word. "Ever since Mum…" Dean didn't see the blow coming. One moment he was glaring right into the face of his father and the next he was sprawled against the wall, head hitting the plaster with a crack. Pain dulled his senses and making his vision blur for a moment.

 

"Do not talk about her!" John growls.

 

"Why? Because it's true?" Dean spits, feeling his head begin to throb in time with his heart. He leans against the wall for if he had to rely solely on his legs Dean questions their ability to keep him upright.

 

"You have no idea what I face!" John roars, pulling Dean up by the collar of his shirt. "I have to provide for you and Sam. I have to pay the bills and keep a roof over you heads. I have to pay school fees. I have to do everything!"

 

"Oh please. I work from four til seven and weekends to keep this place. We're lucky Bobby is generous with his wages. What do you spend your money on? Booze," Dean hisses venomously. John's reply is by striking Dean across the face, a blow that whips his head to the side.

 

"That isn't true!" he denies, his anger slowly morphing into despair.

 

"Oh that's right, Mum's pay out is the thing really keeping us afloat isn't it?" Dean knew that with these words he was really poking the bear with a stick.  John reefs him away from the wall with renewed anger.  Throwing Dean to the floor, Dean barely has enough sense about him to throw his hands down to try and break his fall.

 

"You have no idea! NO IDEA. You're just a child!" John's steel capped boot connects with Dean's ribs. A pained gasp escapes Dean's lips with the blow. Pain rocks up his chest. "A CHILD!" Another blow.

 

"Stop," Dean pleads from his curled position on the floor, barely conscious. The pain is too much to bare. Tears stream down his face, Dean isn't even trying to hold them in. The pain is too much. "Please, make it stop," Dean whimpers.

 

"You know, she screamed that too. Just before the fire really got her. Then she screamed. And screamed, can you hear it? I can still HEAR IT!" John shrieks bending to speak right into Dean's face as he lands another kick to Dean's ribs.

 

The last thing Dean hears is the door flying in with a crack and the thunder of shoes on the wooden floor. Blackness takes over his vision and blessedly the pain stops.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God a new chapter. *gasps*
> 
> Thank you to everyone who is actually reading this!  
> Comments make me smile *wink wink*

Cas took his time walking home. He was deep in thought, Dean had run off without an explanation and if he wanted to be completely honest with himself, it hurt. It shouldn't have hurt as much as it did because Dean was a friend. Just a friend. Nothing more. Just as Castiel rounded the corner onto his street his phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket he read the caller ID: Michael. He sighed wearily. "Hello?" he asks.

 

"Where are you?" comes the stern reply.

 

"Hello to you too, Brother," Castiel shoots back sarcastically. It seems that the three weeks spent in Dean's company had started to rub off on him.

 

"Castiel answer the question. School finished over an hour and a half ago. In case you forgot; you are grounded which means you come straight home after school. Every day," Michael informs grumpily. It was almost as if he couldn't believe that he had to chastise Cas at all. That was most likely it; Castiel never got in trouble. He was the least likely to be grounded and yet, he is. 

 

"I'm almost home now," Castiel states, beginning to trek up the driveway. "In fact…" Castiel opens the front door and steps inside. "I just walked in." Michael rounds the corner into the entryway, phone still pressed to his ear.

 

"Good," he mutters, hanging up the phone. "Where were you?" he interrogates, crossing his arms and levelling a glare down at Castiel.

 

"Out," he replies, trying to sidestep his elder brother. Michael blocks his path, raising an eyebrow as if to say 'you aren't getting off that easy'. With a weary sigh Castiel elaborates. "With Dean."

 

"That dumb kid who you've been roped into helping?" Michael clarifies.

 

"He's not dumb," Cas blurts hotly, glaring back.

 

"Right. Where were you?" Michael asks again. "I sent Anna to the library and you weren't there."

 

"You sent out a search party?" Cas asks incredulously, raising his eyebrows.

 

"It was barely a search party. If it were Gabriel that was missing… then it would have been," Michael concedes. "Who knows what he gets up to these days."

 

"Uh huh." Castiel renews his efforts at getting upstairs. He gets one foot on the stairs when he feels a hand on his shoulder, threatening to pull him back down if he takes one more step. "What do you want Michael? I'm sorry I was late. It won't happen again," Castiel mutters, not turning around.

 

"This isn't like you Castiel. That Dean kid is a bad influence. You don't need him distracting you. I'll arrange an appointment with Ellen Harvelle and…"

 

"No! Everything's fine. Don't worry about me. Everything will get back to normal. It's Ok," Cas reassures, turning to face his brother. With matching dark hair and blue eyes, Michael and Castiel looked the most alike in comparison to the other Novak siblings and now Castiel could see just how alike he and Michael really were. Unlike Gabriel, Lucifer and Anna, Michael and Castiel enjoyed studying and working to become successful whereas the other three lived to party. Michael was the next in line to take over their father's business and he was always working on new ways in which we could benefit it. Lucifer was on the fast track to becoming homeless if their father stopped providing him with funds. Castiel wasn't sure what Gabriel or Anna wanted to do once they finished high school, heck Gabriel is repeating a year thanks to Michael.

 

"Are you sure, Castiel?" Michael asks and Cas swears he heard a hint of concern in his voice.

 

"Yes I'm fine!" Cas cries exasperatedly, racing up the stairs. This was the longest conversation he had had with his brother in weeks. Cas decided it was time to bury himself in school work for a while. He is getting too caught up in over-analysing everything to do with Dean. Opening his Maths textbook he retreated into the world that was algebra. When he looked up again the clock read 6:57.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hands shook Dean's shoulders, jerking his body forwards and back like a rag doll. Dean was barely aware of Sam's voice screaming at him to say something. Opening his eyes he saw a hysterical looking Sam crouched in front of him, a paramedic to his left and a police officer to his right. "Mr Winchester can you describe the pain you are feeling on a scale from one to ten?" the paramedic asks tentatively. Dean opening his mouth to reply with an eight, but a blast of red hot pain caused him to jerk and let out a scream, tears blurring his vision. This was all the confirmation the paramedic needed who began to shout orders. One minute a gurney was being wheeled through the hole that is left of the front door and Dean is again fighting to stay conscious. "Dean stay awake. Please you might be concussed," the paramedic warned. Dean may or may not have nodded, he can't be sure. Everything is still fuzzy and his chest feels as if someone opened it up, stuck hot coals in it along with a couple razor blades then sewed it shut.

 

***

 

Dean woke up sometime later to a throbbing… well everything. He gasped in pain as he attempted to sit up, sliding back down. It was only now that he realised that he's in hospital and Sam is slouched over, asleep, in an uncomfortable looking position in the plastic chair beside the bed. "Sammy," he croaks. There was no movement in the younger Winchester. "Sam?" Dean tries again a little louder, his voice almost cracking with the effort. Glancing around for something to throw at Sam to get him to wake up, Dean spots a cup of water on the little table beside the bed. Guzzling it quickly he relishes in the cool liquid easing his throat before crunching the cup into a ball and pegging it at his brother. It bounces off his forehead, causing Sam to wake with a jolt.

 

"What the…?"

 

"Hey Sleeping Beauty," Dean smirks, ignoring the pain in his chest.

 

"Dean! You're awake," Sam exclaims happily, getting up with a wince and giving his brother a light hug as to not injure him further. Stepping back, Sam levels him with a concerned look. "What happened? I heard screaming and then a couple thumps. Then like a loud bang and then there were cops everywhere," Sam explains, eyes watery.

 

"Hey don't cry," Dean pleads, holding out a hand in comfort. Sam clasps it tightly. "Dad beat the shit out of me and someone must have called the cops and yeah… blacked out for a bit." Sam nods in understanding.

 

"What's gonna happen now?" he asks quietly, staring at his feet.

 

"I don't know, Sammy," Dean confesses, heaving a sigh which turns into a gasp as his chest gives a pulse of agony before dulling down to a constant throb.

 

***

 

Dean convinces Sam to talk about trivial things to get both their minds off what's going to happen next. Sam talks about school and this girl he's crushing on and his friends and Dean starts to feel a little better. That is until the doctor comes in, a police officer trailing behind. "Mr Winchester, I'm here to inform you of you're current condition and Officer Milton here would like to ask a few questions," the doctor explains. "Now…" the doctor pauses for emphasis. "You have two broken ribs and a concussion. You're going to need plenty of rest; a minimum of two weeks. I'll prescribe you some pain medication which you will take twice daily. Ok?"

 

"Yep," Dean replies a forced smile on his face.

 

"Good. I'll leave you with Officer Milton now." And with that the doctor strides out of the room, Dean presumes to do doctor-y things.

 

"Please call me Balthazar, Dean, Sam," Balthazar says warmly. Sam's mouth tilts up a little in amusement. Dean shoots him a look. The last thing he needs is his little brother laughing at a cop. "I need you to answer the questions honestly. I only want what's best for you both."

 

"Yeah Ok."

 

"Ok, has anything like this happened before?"

 

"You mean dad hitting us?" Dean asks. Balthazar nods. "Yes. A lot."

 

"Even Sam?"

 

"Yes." Balthazar says nothing but his grip on his pen grows considerably tighter.

 

"When did this start?"

 

"Coupla years after Mum died, when his drinking got worse."

 

"He drunk often?"

 

"Every day. He was drunk more than he was sober."

 

"Do you have any other family?"

 

"No. But Robert Singer is like an Uncle to us," Dean could see where these questions were going. His father was going to jail or rehab. Well it doesn't really matter, they aren't going to be allowed to see him for a long time.

 

"Would either of you mind letting me take some photos of you're injuries, for evidence?" Balthazar asks this somewhat hesitantly, as if he didn't want to know the extent to which Dean and Sam were beaten. Dean slowly and painfully shucked off his shirt to reveal the bruises and swelling covering his chest and abdomen. Biting the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out from the pain. Balthazar snapped a few pictures before turning to Sam, snapping a couple pictures of the mostly faded bruises on his face. "Someone will be in touch with you to work out a temporary placement whilst your father is on trial. A counsellor will also be assigned to you both, in case you need to talk about anything that's happened. Thank you for your time. Sam is there somewhere you will be spending the night?" Sam points to the plastic chair, a defiant look on his face. Daring for Balthazar to tell him he can't spend the night with his brother. With a final nod, Balthazar leaves the brothers alone.

 

"We'll be alright Sam. Bobby'll take us in and we wont have to see dad any more. We'll be Ok," Dean tries to be positive. Sam nods along, but worry and fear still war in his eyes. "We will Sam!"

 

"Ok Dean! I believe you," Sam mutters.

 

"Good. Because our life is going to get better. I know it."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Destiel fluff in this chapter!  
> Hope you all enjoy.

Dean isn't at school the next day. Castiel tells himself that everything is fine. Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?

 

***

 

Dean isn't at school the day after that either. Castiel finds himself getting worried. What if something happened? He was standing at his locker, pulling out his Biology textbooks. It was Thursday. He hadn't spoken to Dean since his abrupt exit on Monday. Maybe he should text him? Cas is about to pull out his phone when something, or more likely someone, slams into the locker beside his. Looking up, Cas spots Kevin leaning next to him. "Whatcha doing Castiel?" he asks, panting. He must have ran to meet Cas before his next class.

 

"N-nothing," Cas stutters, slamming his locker shut.

 

"Suuuuuure. So, me and a couple others are going to see a movie tonight. Care to join?" Kevin asks, swapping subjects. Even if Cas wanted to go, he couldn't, he was still grounded.

 

"I'm sorry Kevin, I can't I'm grounded," Cas says apologetically. Kevin's face falls for a moment, making Cas feel instantly guilty. That guilt quickly turns to concern when a mischievous smile graces Kevin's face. "Oh no."

 

"This because your boy Dean bashed the crap out of Gordon for you?"

 

"Dean is not my 'boy'" Cas remarks indignantly. Kevin just raises an eyebrow.

 

"Really?"

 

"This conversation is over. I'll talk to you later Kevin," Cas concludes beginning to walk away. He's almost swallowed by the crowd when he hears Kevin yell after him:

 

"Don't fight your feelings Castiel!" Cas rolls his eyes and avoids the questioning stares that are shot at him by the majority of the student body.

 

***

 

Castiel can't concentrate in Biology. He has the niggling sensation that something is wrong, but he doesn't know what. Glancing at the clock he sees that he's only been in class for twelve minutes. With a sigh, he focuses on Mrs Harvelle explaining in detail the process of meiosis.  "Ok so to recap… meiosis; sexual or asexual?" A murmur of 'sexual' ripples through the class. "Very good. Although, you all should have already known that. You learnt it last year… and the year before," Mrs Harvelle informs. Cas glances at the clock again, four minutes have passed. Ok, to hell with this, he thinks. Pulling out his phone he stealthily sends Dean a quick text.

 

Castiel: **Is everything Ok? You have be absent from school.**

 

Castiel reads the message again. Waiting impatiently for a reply. After three agonising minutes, his phone vibrates in his hand.

 

Dean: **In hospital. Come visit. Room 035**

 

Cas' eyes widen at the news. Dean is in hospital. How? Why? Slipping his phone into his pocket, Cas' mind wanders to all the possible scenarios that could have landed Dean in the hospital. A fight? A road accident? Food poisoning? An accident at work? Cas is brought out of his reverie by the sound of Mrs Harvelle's voice. "Castiel? Are you listening to me? Hello?" Blinking rapidly Castiel focuses on his teacher, also the fact that everyone else in the classroom is staring at him in amusement.

 

"Ye-yes," he stutters.

 

"Can you repeat my question?" Mrs Harvelle asks, crossing her arms.

 

"Er…" A blush sweeps up his neck. "No, I'm sorry."

 

"Castiel Novak, this isn't like you at all," she tuts. "Stay behind after class, I want to speak with you." Castiel nods, looking back down at his empty page, guiltily.

 

***

 

"Are you Ok, Castiel? Everything Ok at home?" Mrs Harvelle asks kindly, if a little worriedly.

 

"Yes. I've just been stressed lately, is all. I'm sorry about this lesson. It won't happen again," Cas apologises. Mrs Harvelle stares at him, not believing the lies that are pouring from his mouth like water.

 

"Castiel…"

 

"I'm fine," he says cutting his teacher off before she gets a chance to even begin her sentence. "Really, I am."

 

With a sigh, Mrs Harvelle gives in, "Ok, but if you ever need to talk to anyone, there is a guidance counsellor available at the school. All you need to do it make an appointment."

 

"Sure, Mrs Harvelle. I'll think about it," he lies.

 

***

 

Cas texts Michael to inform him he's going to visit the hospital before coming home. The answering message informs him his brother is not impressed. Castiel doesn't care. Dean is in hospital and it's his duty as a friend to visit him. He walks through the double doors and up to the reception desk. "Er… Dean Winchester?" he asks the red headed secretary.

 

"Ah yes, ward one room 035. Just through there and follow the numbered doors. He seems pretty popular today," she smiles happily. Castiel frowns.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"He's had a number of visitors today. A young boy, an older man and another boy around your age although I think he should have been in school but it isn't my place to judge," she rattles on. Castiel nods and with a quick thanks walks away.

 

He knocks on the door labelled 035 before stepping in. He's greeted with the sight of Benny sprawled in the plastic chair by Dean's bed who was propped up in bed by what looks to be about four pillows. "Cas!" He exclaims happily.

 

"Hello," he replies awkwardly, stepping away from the door.

 

"Castiel," Benny greets, "What a nice surprise. Dean was just talking about you. Actually, he hasn't shut up about you," Benny drawls. Dean shoots him a glare, his face turning scarlet. Cas gives a small smile.

 

"ANYWAY!" Dean interrupts. "How was school? A drag I bet, 'cause I wasn't there," he adds cockily. Cas can't help but silently agree. Of the two classes he shares with Dean it has been  particularly quiet. He hadn't realised how much he enjoyed having Dean making sarcastic comments from the back of the room until he wasn't there to make them.

 

"It was quiet and uneventful," Cas acknowledges. Dean gives a triumphant smile.

 

"I knew it. I bet everyone misses me," Dean declares. Benny snorts. "What? It's not like you would know, you've been annoying me all day."

 

"Oh come on, you live for my company," Benny responds, flicking his legs up onto the arm rests of the chair so that he is sitting sideways.

 

"I'm glad Cas is here to save me," Dean says sincerely looking over to Cas. "Don't just stand over there, sit down," Dean commands, patting the bed. Hesitantly, Cas complies, sinking onto the bed slowly, mindful of Dean's injuries even though he hasn't a clue as to what caused them. He can feel Dean's eyes on him as he makes himself relatively comfortable. He looks up, meeting Dean's gaze, Dean gives a small grin and Cas can't help but return it.

 

"Ohhh Kay," Benny interrupts, standing and stretching like a cat. "I'm gonna go now, text me later Dean," he says walking towards the door. With an over exaggerated wink he leaves Cas and Dean alone. They sit in silence for a moment, Cas working up the nerve to ask how Dean ended up in hospital, but before he can ask, Dean speaks:

 

"I bet you're wondering how the hell I ended up here, huh?" Cas nods. "Well, one word: Dad." Cas' mouth drops open. His own father did this?

 

"That's unbelievable," Cas utters. "How could he do such a thing?" Dean just shrugs.

 

"It's not so bad, only two broken ribs and a concussion. I'll be out tomorrow then back to school on Monday."

 

"Dean you can’t return to school so soon! You have two broken ribs for hecks sake!" Cas exclaims shocked and outraged.

 

"Aw Cas it's nice that you care so much," Dean replies jokingly.

 

"I do care for you Dean, you're my friend," Cas states shyly, with a silent 'hopefully' at the end. Dean gives him a warm smile.

 

"I know you are Cas. But I'll be Ok, I always am," He grabs hold of Cas' hand, giving it a squeeze. Castiel's eyes immediately lock onto Dean's hand holding his firmly. His hand is warm and calloused. It's a contrast to his softer hands, not used to hard labour. Warmth flutters around inside his stomach at the realisation that Dean is holding his hand.  Dean is holding his hand!

 

Of course it's in that moment that the door opens and a surly man with a beard and baseball cap strolls him, levelling a glare at Cas, who quickly drops Dean's hand and stands. "Who's this?" the man asks gruffly.

 

"Bobby, meet Cas, Cas, Bobby," Dean introduces gesturing between the two.

 

Cas holds out a hand for Bobby to shake, "Nice to meet you, Sir," he says politely. Bobby takes his outstretched hand giving it a firm shake.

 

 

"Don't call me 'Sir', it's Bobby," he replies, dropping the glare.

 

"My apologies."

 

"So… what brings you to my humble abode?" Dean drawls.

 

"You don't live here," Castiel can't help but point out and Bobby snorts in amusement.

 

"Whatever,"

 

"I'm here to look after you and your brother and I'm the poor bastard who has to make sure that asshole of a father of yours never lays a finger on you boys again," Bobby reported, dropping into the plastic chair by Dean's bed.

 

"Good luck with that," Dean mutters, closing his eyes and settling into the pillows. Cas takes this as a sign that he should leave. Clearing his throat he announces his intentions. Dean's eyes immediately snap open, "Don't go, Cas," he whispers.

 

"No I should get home, Michael is not pleased with me at the moment," Cas confesses. Dean nods solemnly.

 

"Ok then. I'll see you at school in a couple days then?"

 

"Yes. Bye Dean," Castiel steps out of the room, he pauses as he closes the door, hearing Bobby speak:

 

"You be good to that one ya here? He seems like a good kid."

 

"He is. I like him Bobby," Dean murmurs. Cas feels his cheeks warm as a pleased smile stretches its way onto his face.

 

"I like you too, Dean Winchester," Cas whispers to himself as he practically skips down the hall.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say a quick thank you to everyone who's reading this it really does make my day to see the comments and kudos. When I posted the first chapter I never thought more than like one person (she knows who she is) would actually take the time to read my fic so thank you so much! So without further or do...

The next day in English is more horrible than normal. Henriksen swaggers into the room and begins his lecture only to then interrupt himself by asking, "And where would Mr Winchester be today?" Nobody answers. Henriksen looks about the class. "Probably cutting class to get out of having to complete his essay on the Great Gatsby," he concludes. Castiel glares at his desk, his grip on his pen growing increasingly tighter. "That'd be what he'd do…"

 

"He's in hospital you insensitive assbutt!" Castiel shrieks, his control snapping. If the class was silent before it was even more so now. Nobody dared to even breathe.

 

"What was that Mr Novak?" Henriksen asks, striding up to where Castiel sat, bristling with anger.

 

"You heard me," Castiel spits, glaring at his teacher. The class let out a collective "Ooooo."

 

"Did you just call me an… assbutt?" Henriksen asks incredulously. Castiel nods. "Detention after school. That is not acceptable in this classroom… or any classroom for that matter."

 

"Sir you were drawing false and very offensive conclusions about a student. Somehow I do not think that that is allowed," Castiel points out defiantly. He knows he's just stirring the pot now, but he can’t help it. Henriksen is a dick and it's about time someone did something about it. Castiel hears someone mumble a "yeah" under their breath, he recognises Benny's voice. Castiel goes on, "Mrs Harvelle would have to be informed in the case of a teacher bullying their student in such a way that that student is somehow affected physically or emotionally. I would be happy to oblige on Dean's behalf…"

 

"Enough!" Henriksen snaps, his face going red with rage. "Get. Out!" He snarls. Castiel picks up his books, and takes one step towards the door when someone begins to clap. By the time he closes the door behind him the majority of the class are applauding him. Castiel grins as he makes his way to Mrs Harvelle's office.

 

***

Cas thinks that Ellen Harvelle isn't stupid. He thinks that she just doesn't want any trouble, therefore she let Cas off with an afternoon detention. When he got home from said detention, Michael was livid. "You called him an ASSBUTT?" Michael yells at him, spit flying through the air. Castiel takes a step back to escape the wet droplets.

 

"Well, he is. He verbally abuses his students and nobody does anything. Teachers aren't supposed to doubt their students abilities and mock them," Castiel reasons walking into the kitchen where Anna was attempting to cook dinner. Cas drops his bag on the counter and turns to raid the fridge, Michael still ranting by the threshold.

 

"Castiel you cannot swear at your teachers! It's that Winchester kids fault. You were fine before you met him."

 

"It's not Dean's fault! And if you really think that, talk to Henriksen about it, he's the one who blackmailed me into helping Dean in the first place," Castiel retorts, going over to investigate exactly what it is that Anna is attempting to make. "What is that?"

 

"The recipe says tuna and cheese casserole but it looks like vomit," she replies poking her creation with a fork.

 

"Did you cook is for long enough?" Cas questions taking the recipe book from her.

 

"You aren't listening to me Castiel!" Michael shouts coming to stand on the opposite side of the counter from Cas and Anna.

 

"It says twenty five minutes." Castiel states, completely ignoring Michael who was clenching and unclenching his fists. "What do you think Michael? Do you think it's cooked?" Castiel asks, looking up from the recipe and meeting Michael's furious gaze.

 

"I will not get sucking into your petty attempt at changing the subject, Castiel," he grinds out from behind clenched teeth.

 

"Well you should because I refuse to speak further on the subject," Castiel concludes, picking up another fork with the intent to try the 'casserole'. Anna cuts Cas a small piece in which he shovels into his mouth. Almost immediately he has the reflex to gag. The taste is unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. Choking back the bite he tries to refrain from running to the sink and gulping back mouthfuls of water. With a strained smile, "It tastes interesting," he says. Anna stares at him knowingly.

 

"You don't like it," she states with a sigh. "You need to try some now Michael because if you don't like it then I'll throw it because there'll be no way Gabe and Lucifer will eat it." Michael grimaces and gives Anna a look as if to say 'do I have to?'. Nine times out of ten if Cas doesn't like something then that’s a clear indication that nobody's going to like it. Picking up a fork, Michael hesitantly takes a bite. In less time than it took Castiel, Michael is swallowing the bite and rushing over to the tap, filling a glass and washing the taste from his mouth.  Castiel laughs and Anna heaves an irritated sigh. "It can't be that bad!" she reasons, taking her own bite. "Holy crap," she mutters, spitting the lump back into her hand. "That's disgusting." Castiel laughs again. It's funny because it's true. A casserole shouldn't taste this bad and yet it does.

 

"What's disgusting?" Gabe asks, practically bouncing into the kitchen to crowd next to Cas, who nods to the casserole.  "Why does it look like barf?"

 

"What even is it?" Lucifer asks, coming to stand by Michael who had retaken his place opposite Castiel at the counter.

 

"Try some," Anna says deadpan but with a slightly evil glimmer in her eyes. She hands both Lucifer and Gabriel a fork each. They carve themselves heaped forkfuls and shovel the casserole into their mouths. Anna, Castiel and Michael all wait with bated breath for the two's reactions. Michael snorts trying to keep his laughter in and Anna is turning slightly pink. At last Gabe spits the chunk back into his hand with a disgusted cry, looking at his siblings like they had just eaten the last of the marshmallows and left none for him; betrayal.

 

"What the fuck is this shit? Oh My God. Ew gross," Gabe hollers, running to hurl his chunk of casserole into the sink before ducking to drink straight from the tap.

 

"Christ! Fucking hell are you trying to poison me? God! Fuck," Lucifer curses, pushing Gabe out of the way and taking his place at the tap.

 

"Get your own tap!" Gabe growls, pushing Lucifer back out of the way to continue drinking. Anna cracks up first laughing so hard tears escape down her cheeks. Castiel lets out a snort and soon is wracked with fits of laugher, Michael gives a chuckle before going to grab the phone and order pizza. Castiel is glad that for now, the matter of Dean and him is dropped and he can enjoy a moment with his family while they aren't fighting.

 

*~*~**~*~

Dean gets let out of hospital and finds himself getting waited on hand and foot by Sam and Bobby. He'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it.

 

He reclines on the couch a blanket thrown over his legs and a good four episodes of Dr Sexy pre-recorded. Life is good. That is until the front door slams shut and is followed by the clump of heavy boots. Dean's instinctual reaction is that dad is back. A mix of panic and fear coil in his stomach until Bobby rounds the corner, phone pressed to his ear. "...Well you're just going to have to suck it up, princess. No I have to take care of the boys." Bobby rants. "No Rufus, just make sure nobody does anything stupid or gets themselves killed while I'm gone… yes I mean Garth, who else would I be talking about?" Bobby heaves an exasperated sigh, wiping a hand down his face and begins pacing back and forth across the lounge room.  "Two days Rufus, just til Dean's back on his feet. Ok bye… Alright! Rufus stop I really have to go. Ok I understand… no you won't be held accountable if Garth loses a finger… or a foot. Oh for God's sake he isn't that incompetent Rufus… BYE!" Bobby hangs up with a muttered "Idjit," before dropping down in the single armchair by the couch, meeting Dean's amused gaze. "What?"

 

"Everything Ok?"

 

"Fine. I was just organising everything at the Salvage yard for the time being because I am not letting any of those cops involve you boys. I'll handle it." Bobby states firmly, leaving no room for argument. So Dean just nods. "Good, now gimme that damn remote I ain't watching this… rubbish."

 

"Hey! Dr Sexy is prime TV!" Dean says outraged, but passes the remote over anyway.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun another chapter!  
> Enjoy and remember comments and kudos are really nice. I'd love to hear any feedback or if you want something specific to happen. I'd love suggestions.

Dean deems himself fit enough to attend school the following Monday. He strolls into first period English to find Cas and a bunch of other kids ready and waiting for class to begin. He smiles fondly watching Cas from the doorway of the classroom. Castiel had his head bent over a book as per usual, his hair was a mess of dark tufts sticking up every which way as per usual and he was wearing his trench coat as per usual. A firm thump to his lower back by a student trying to get past him into the room, spurred Dean into movement. He takes a seat behind Cas, who doesn't even notice. Benny, however, does. Benny raises an eyebrow at Dean and takes his regular seat in the back. Dean raises his chin slightly in challenge, daring his friend to say something; Benny does not and its not long before Henricksen walks in and class begins.

 

"Mr Winchester! You've decided to join us back in class. Looking worse for wear I might add," Henricksen exclaims with a mirthless laugh and a gesture to the fading bruises on his face. Dean ignored the stares and whispers from the class. Cas visibly bristles and turns in his seat, first scanning the back of the classroom before his eyes land on Dean. He looks slightly surprised that Dean decided to seat so close to him before a blush spreads over his cheeks. The wink that Dean gives him doesn't help with Cas' bashfulness. Dean is pleased that Cas reacted the way he did. Maybe Cas feels the same about Dean..."Anyway. Mr Winchester, considering your absences, would you consider yourself prepared for the upcoming essay you will be writing on Gatsby?" Henricksen asks rhetorically. Dean knows he's not ready. Reading that damn book has been the last thing on his mind lately. Hell he and Cas haven't been to the library in what… a week? Dean opens his mouth to respond, but Cas buts in.

 

"He'll be ready," Cas says with certainty, glaring right at Henricksen who just smirks.

 

"He will be, will he? What makes you so sure Mr Novak?" Henricksen drawls, holding up a hand to inspect his nails, like he hasn't a care in the world.

 

"I am sure because I will personally see to it that  Dean gets a passing grade on his essay," Cas promises. Dean feels a burst of pride go off in his stomach.

Cas is so sure of his ability to help Dean, even if Dean doesn’t think he can help himself.

 

“We’ll see Mr Novak, just how good a teacher you are when Mr Winchester hands in his essay,” Henricksen concedes before readdressing the class and finally actually beginning the lesson.  “Right, so take a sheet and pass them on. They are some chapter questions in regard to the novel and I expect them done by the end of class. Get to work!” Henricksen hands the girl in the front row a stack of pages; the chapter questions and everyone begins to work.

 

***

That afternoon in the library Dean and Cas put together a study plan for Dean to get on top of all his deadlines and exam dates. “ I have mine with me to show you,” Cas explains handing Dean a loose page. On it is a complicated table with typed days of the week and the hours of the day. Cas has scribbled in the subjects he has and allocated at least three hours per week for each subject for study time. He has also colour coordinated the subjects in highlighter pen. Dean’s eyes widen as he takes in the bright colours and intricate notes in each box.

 

“Wow, this is… intense,” he mutters, handing Cas back the plan.

 

“I’m very particular when it comes to my education,” Cas allows. “Now, I have typed one for you. All you have to do is fill in the subjects in the hour slot you think you’ll most benefit. Obviously you won’t put in any in the times say if you have to work…”

 

“Bobby won’t let me come back to the garage until my ribs are fully healed anyway. That’ll probably take a couple weeks. So no work for me,” Dean almost whines. He enjoys his time at the garage, working on all the cars and coming home smelling of grease.

But Bobby’s a stubborn old man and won’t budge.

 

“Oh Ok then… well at least that means you have more time to study,” Cas says hopefully. Dean rolls his eyes.

 

“Sure Cas.”

 

***

They leave the library an hour later. Dean feels like he can now actually start the essay and Cas… well Cas is done and is on to proof reading. Dean was annoyed that Castiel is so on top of all his work, but at the same time he can’t help but admire Cas’ drive to achieve.

 

When Dean pulls into the drive of their old house he feels good. Still a little sore, but that’s nothing a couple painkillers can’t fix. He whistles as he enters the house. It’s surprisingly quiet. “Sammy?” No reply. “Bobby? Hello?!” Still no reply. He decides to do a quick check of the house. Maybe nobody’s home. The kitchen is empty as is the lounge room. Where the hell is everybody? Dean thinks. Dumping his school bag down by the couch he stands, staring at the blank television screen. That is until he hears a muffled voice coming from the back of the house. He follows the sound.

 

“No, you aren’t taking them damn boys! I won’t allow it!” Bobby shouts down the line of his mobile phone. He’s sitting on one of the deck chairs a beer on the table to his side. Dean stands inside, listening intently. “Yes that bloody means I’ll fight for them! I will not let John fuck them up more than they already are!” Bobby takes a swig of his beer. “…obviously… no Dean’s still seventeen; eighteen in January… fourteen; fifteen in May…” Dean realises that Bobby must be answering questions about them. “I’ll be their guardian; they have no one else… I’m paying you good money; you better not let their damn father have them! I swear to God…” Dean muffles his gasp of surprise. Bobby must be paying a lawyer to represent him against their father. Emotion swells in his gut, Bobby cares about them far more than Dean ever thought. “Ok I’ll be in tomorrow… ten o’clock. Ok good bye, Pam. You better make sure that idjit goes to jail… good.” Bobby hangs up, slapping his mobile down on the table he chugs the rest of the beer. Dean decides to make his presence known.

 

“Are you Ok, Bobby?” He asks hesitantly. Bobby jumps, swinging around to glare at Dean before his face softens.

 

“I will be… Don’t sneak up on me Dean! Jeez I ain’t as young as I used to be you think my ticker can handle crap like that?!” Bobby grumbles.

 

“Sorry. Are you paying a lawyer to help us stay with you?” Dean blurts coming to stand beside Bobby’s chair. Bobby nods not looking at Dean.

 

“I won’t let him have you two. You boys don’t need someone like him in your lives,” Bobby growls. It’s in that moment Dean realises how much he loves Bobby. Screw Uncle, Bobby was practically a father to Dean and Sam. Dean leans down and wraps his arms around Bobby who freezes in shock.

 

“Thank you,” Dean utters; voice thick with emotion. Bobby reluctantly returns the hug.

 

“Alright enough, c’mon I gotta get dinner done. Burgers tonight,” Bobby says, as Dean steps back slightly embarrassed.

 

“Right Ok.”

 

***

After dinner, Dean decides to get a start on his essay. He sits down at the small desk he and Sam share. Although they have separate rooms, they only have one desk. It’s crowded with all kinds of shit. Sam’s homework; finished obviously, comic books, writing stuff, novels and an assortment of food wrappers. Pushing everything to the side Dean gets to work. He gets as far as typing; _How have the challenges a particular character faces that help them develop throughout the novel? An essay by Dean Winchester._ Before Sam walks in, a dopey smile on his face. “Who is she?” Dean asks with a sly grin. Sam drops down onto Dean’s bed and grins at the ceiling.

 

“Her name’s Jessica. She’s really pretty,” Sam confesses. Dean chuckles.

 

“I bet she is.”

 

“Yeah… she’s smart too, like really smart. You know that pop quiz we had the other day?” Sam asks.

 

“The one you through a bitch fit over because you didn’t get an A?” Dean asks knowing that’s exactly the quiz his brother is talking about. Sam gives him a bitchface.

 

“Yes. Jessica got an A. She’s really smart,” Sam gushes.

 

“Pretty and smart. Is she funny too? If she is you better look out, it looks like you’re whipped anyway so I suppose it doesn’t matter…”

 

“She is so funny. And I am not ‘whipped’!” Sam exclaims, throwing a pillow at Dean.

 

“Alright, lover boy don’t get your knickers in a twist,” Dean laughs, essay completely forgotten. It’s been too long since he and Sam have talked like this.

 

“I really like her Dean. What should I do?” Sam asks nervously.

 

“Kiss her…” Dean blurts.

 

“DEAN! I’m serious!” Sam cries throwing Dean another bitchface.

 

“Alright alright calm down! Ask her on a date. Go to the movies and not with a bunch of others!” Dean advises. “If she doesn’t get the picture that you like her then she mustn’t be too smart. And remember…”

 

“Remember what?” Sam asks, sitting up.

 

“Use protection.”

 

“DEAN!”


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has just clicked over to Saturday, my time, and as promised; here is the new chapter. It's also bigger than all the others so yay.  
> I can also confidently say that in not the next chapter but the one afterwards there is some Destiel action. So that's something to get excited for.

The next day at the library Cas gives Dean some tips on what to write about in his essay. Dean gladly accepts them. The night before he didn't get much further than the title. "It's Ok Dean you have eight days to write it," Cas reassures him. Dean nods and they get on with their respective work. When the hour is almost up Cas takes out his wallet. "Here," he holds out a twenty for Dean to take.

 

"What's this for? I don't need your money Cas," Dean protests. Cas stares at him, still holding out the money. "No Cas. I don't want it!"

 

"Take it!" Cas demands, eyes hard. Dean glares at him.

 

"No."

 

"Dean!" Cas glares back, shaking the money slightly. "Take it! It was our agreement and I haven't been upholding it for a long while."

 

"Cas…" Dean says softly, his glare changing into something else, something softer. "I don't want your money anymore. I want to be here… with you. I like it," Dean confesses shyly, eyes dropping back to his laptop before flicking back up to gauge Cas' reaction.

 

"Really?" Cas whispers.

 

"Yes Cas. I look forward to spending the time with you… alone," Dean reveals, reaching out a hand cover Cas' outstretched one. Cas gives Dean's hand a squeeze, a smile gracing his face.

 

"I too enjoy our time together, Dean," Cas divulges. Dean grins from ear to ear.

 

"Ok, now take your money back and lets go for a coffee. I'll let you pay if it'll make you feel better," Dean suggests already packing away his school books. Castiel nods slipping all his things into his bag. He was determined to make Dean accept the money and if that meant paying for his coffee, then Cas will accept this as a compromise.

 

***

When Cas walked in the house after his second coffee outing with Dean he couldn't help the goofy grin that graced his face. They had talked about music and movies, Dean was shocked to know that Cas had never seen any Marvel movies. "Cas! Really? Not one? Have you even seen Batman?" Dean had exclaimed before promptly knocking over his coffee with his fanatic hand  gestures and swearing like a trooper as it pooled over the table and spilled onto his jeans. Cas had laughed so hard tears spilled down his cheeks. Cas ended up helping  to clean up the table and dabbing a napkin on the coffee that was seeping into Dean's jean clad thighs. Things got considerably more awkward after that, especially when Dean bat Cas' hand away and covered his crotch a blush spreading up his neck. Cas was glad that Dean couldn't see his own crotch, because dabbing at Dean's thighs were having as much an effect on Dean as it was Cas. The afternoon was great. As they left the coffee shop, Jo wolf whistled turning both their ears pink with embarrassment. Dean flipped her off.

 

The smile quickly vanishes with the sound of crashing and yelling from upstairs. Cas sighs and makes his way into the kitchen. He finds Gabe and Anna playing a very heated game of snakes and ladders. "Gabe for fucks sake, you're supposed to count the square you're on other wise you get an extra space!" Anna hisses, snatching Gabe's piece back a square. Gabe glares at his sister but leaves his piece where it is.

 

"Hey," Cas says throwing his bag on the ground and going to join his siblings.

 

"Cassie how do you count the spaces? Do you count the square you're already on or do you start from the next space?" Gabe questions as Cas takes a seat next to him at the breakfast bar. Cas looks at their game, Gabe is winning by four squares. Now he understands why Anna is so livid.

 

"I count from the next square," Cas confesses not meeting Anna's venomous glare. Gabe shoots her a triumphant grin, moving his piece a square ahead. Gabe and Anna get back to their game with Cas playing mediator. The three go on ignoring the crashing above them and the muffled curses of _fuck you_ and _our family is fucked thanks to you!_

 

An especially loud crash makes them pause in their game. It's followed by the sound of footsteps thundering down the stairs. "We are not done, Lucifer!" Michael shouts just as Lucifer appears in the kitchen, eyes bright with fury and chest heaving. He grabs his keys from the hook by the fridge, completely ignoring his siblings before leaving, slamming the front door on his way out. Michael appears shortly after, "He left didn't he?" He asks, furious. The three nod. Michael is shaking with anger as he too, grabs his keys and leaves shouting "I'll be back later don't do anything stupid."

 

"What was that all about?" Cas questions as Anna and Gabe continue their game. Gabe shrugs.

 

"I think Lucifer was going to leave or something. Apparently… Monique? Monica? Was a keeper and they were going to run off into the sunset," Anna thinks aloud.

 

"I thought her name was Moira," Gabe mutters. Anna rolls her eyes.

 

Anna ended up winning the game and in a fit of rage Gabe swiped it onto the floor accusing her of cheating. The fight escalated to them throwing the dice and playing pieces at each other. Cas used the board as a shield. So much for him being mediator.

 

***

 

Cas prepared their dinner and they watched a movie. Michael and Lucifer having still not returned. By midnight Cas was starting to worry. It wasn't like Michael to be out this late, hell Michael doesn't go out at all. So for him to be gone for seven hours had Cas glancing at the clock and his phone and back to the clock every few minutes. A loud yawn has his eyes snapping away from the clock for the hundredth time. "Well I'm going to hit the sack," Anna says tiredly, rubbing her eyes. Cas nods and wishes her a good night while Gabe waves her off already reaching for the Xbox to hook up to the TV.

 

"Wanna play?" he asks Cas, holding up _Call Of Duty: Black Ops._ Cas politely declines, content with watching Gabe murder all his enemies with an eloquent display of cursing. "Your loss." Cas shakes his head, checking his phone again. He's just placed it down again when it vibrates, Cas snatches it up praying it's Michael. It's not.

 

Dean: **Watcha doin?**

 

Cas can't say that he's too bothered by the fact that it's not Michael. He smiles, typing out a reply.

 

Castiel: **Waiting for my brother to get back.**

 

Dean: **Back from where?**

 

That is a very good question. One that Cas can't answer.

 

Castiel: **I don't know.**

 

Dean: **Which bro R we talking about?**

 

Castiel: **Michael and possibly Lucifer. Mostly Michael.**

 

To say that Cas is surprised when his phone begins buzzing insistently with an incoming call is an understatement. He jumps so hard he almost drops his phone. "Hello?"

 

"Hey Cas. You Ok?" Dean asks concerned. Cas smiles at Dean's concern.

 

"Urg Cas don't talk to your boyfriend all mushily around me!" Gabe groans, fingers working manically on the controller. Cas rolls his eyes and moves to the kitchen. He'd only said 'hello' and Dean wasn't even his boyfriend. Was he?

 

"Who was that?" Dean asks.

 

"Gabe. And I'm Ok, just a bit worried. Michael is not one to be out all night," Cas confesses, rubbing a hand over his face.

 

"Oh… So um… yeah," Dean babbles.

 

"Did you have something you wanted to say to me Dean?" Cas inquires grinning a little. He hears Dean exhale, seemingly psyching himself up.

 

"Er… yes. Um… Ok fuck! Do you wanna go out sometime… with me?" Dean asks in a rush. Cas is speechless. "Cas?"

 

"Yes, I would," Cas confirms excitedly.

 

"Great. Um… Saturday, I'll pick you up at ten?"

 

"Sounds great."

 

"Wow that was actually a lot easier than what I thought it would have been," Dean says with a relieved laugh. Cas chuckles before realisation hits him.

 

"Wait Dean, where are we going?"

 

"It's a surprise. Alright, I gotta go Cas. Bobby's pestering me about going to bed while it's still pm. See you at school?" Dean asks hopefully.

 

"Of course, bye Dean."

 

"Sleep tight Cas," Dean says hanging up. Cas stares at his phone for a moment before returning to the lounge room. Gabe is still playing his game.

 

"Cassie has a date. Cassie has a date. Cassie has a date. Cassie…"

 

"Oh shut up Gabe," Cas interrupts Gabe's chanting, with mock irritation. Secretly he's ecstatic, Dean wants to go on a date with him. With him. Nerdy Castiel Novak who has a grand total of one friend and is known to enjoy the company of books more than people. Cas sighs happily and sinks into the couch.

 

"Someone's whipped," Gabe whispers, Cas throws a pillow at his head.

 

***

 

Gabe goes to bed around one. He leaves his Xbox hooked up to the TV knowing it will piss Anna off in the morning when she goes to watch the morning news. Cas shakes his head at his brother's act of immaturity. One day Anna is going to smash the console and Gabe will break down and cry. "Don't wait up all night for him, Cassie, he might lash out at you for it," Gabe warns Cas in a moment of brotherly concern.

 

"I wont," Cas promises.  Gabe salutes and goes upstairs to bed, leaving Cas to wait alone. In the end he didn't have to wait too long, Michael stumbles through the door in an alcohol induced haze at around twenty to two. "Michael," Cas says, coming to help his brother onto the couch. Michael is absolutely smashed. His eyes are bloodshot and he smells like he drunk a liquor store. "What have you done to yourself?" Cas murmurs. "Hang on let me get you a glass of water." Cas goes to the kitchen and retrieves a glass of water and a plastic bag because it was only a matter of time before all that alcohol would make a reappearance. "Here," Cas hands Michael the water and bag, through his drunken haze, Michael manages to sip at the water.

 

"Thank you," he says quietly. Cas sits next to him on the couch and waits patiently, he'd be there if his brother needed anything of him. What Cas wasn't ready for was for his eldest brother to breakdown in body wracking sobs. Cas shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, Cassie," Michael sobbed. Cas' eyes widened at the family nickname Michael hardly ever used. Cas ran a comforting hand over Michael's back, encouraging him to talk. "I found out Lucifer has been stealing money from the business," Michael confessed. Cas gasped, he knew his second eldest brother was shady but by the looks of it, Cas didn't know the half of it. "Yeah I know. I confronted him about it. He denied it. But I knew he was lying, it was written clear as day on his face."

 

"Wow," Cas breathed. Michael snorted a laugh.

 

"You know, I thought he'd be at least a little bit remorseful. I was so wrong. He laughed in my face and told me there was nothing I could do about it. He knows I have no control over him. I can't control any of you as much as I try. I only want what's best for all of you. I try so hard. So damn hard!" Michael brings a hand down on the arm of the couch to emphasis his point. Cas realises the anger in his eyes wasn't directed at him, or even Lucifer. Michael was angry at himself. "I haven't even spoken to our father in months. It seems he has finally abandoned us Castiel." Michael falls into unconsciousness after his last statement leaving Cas scrambling to grab the glass before it spilled everywhere. Their father had abandoned them. Even Michael. No wonder he was seemingly acting more and more like a father. He was trying to take their father's place.  Cas grabbed a blanket from one of the armchairs and spread it over Michael's body. Starting upstairs, Cas paused and looked down at his brother. Even in sleep, Michael looked stressed. Cas knew there was a weight on his brother's shoulders, a weight that he would let no one but himself carry. Cas sighed and retired to bed.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I was feeling generous so here's a chapter for you all.  
> Enjoy because the next chapter is Cas and Dean's date.

Dean wakes up to the sound of Bobby and Sam arguing. He pads down the stairs to find Bobby cooking bacon and eggs, Sam is standing with his arms crossed and is levelling one of his better bitchfaces at Bobby. "What's going on?" Dean asks, sleepily. Bobby nods to Sam.

 

"Princess here wants me to strain the oil out of the pan," Bobby grumbles. Dean laughs and ruffles Sam's hair on his way to the fridge.

 

"You get used to his little healthy peeves," Dean chuckles. Bobby rolls his eyes, taking the pan over to the sink.

 

"I hope you're bloody happy," he mutters, draining all the oil away. The three sit down and eat the bacon and eggs Bobby cooked, Bobby grumbling about how they'd taste so much better drowned in the oil they were cooked in. After they'd finished eating, Dean shoos Sam upstairs to get ready while Bobby and Dean finished up with the dishes. "You want any coffee?" Bobby asks, as Dean starts filling the sink with hot water and dishwashing liquid.

 

"No I'm good," he replies, casting a look over his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eyes he sees Bobby sneak a flask out of his pocket and pours a healthy dose of whiskey into his coffee. "You Ok, Bobby?" Dean questions, pretending he didn't notice and grabbing the dirty plates.

 

"Fine. Everything is fine, you've got nothing to worry about," Bobby says, leaving the kitchen and ending the conversation. Dean frowns, obviously it's not fine.

 

***

Dean catches Benny before class. "Hey," Dean says, jogging to catch up with his friend. "It's been ages."

 

"I know, Brother," Benny answers, slinging an arm around Dean's shoulders. "So," he starts, leading them further down the halls. "How is little Castiel doing?" Benny inquires, raising an eyebrow. "You kissed him yet?" Dean blushes. "You have! Dean how did I not know about this?" Benny demands.

 

"I haven't kissed him yet!" Dean exclaims, earning a few dirty looks from some of the other students. The combined glares from both Dean and Benny have them turning away and going back to their own business.

 

"Come on Dean, you're losing your touch," Benny chides good-naturedly.

 

"But we do have a date…"

 

"Ooo a date," Benny whispers conspiratorially. "Where are you's going? What are you's doing? I want all the details!" Benny gushes.

 

"You're worse than a girl! I'm not telling you. I haven't even told Cas. It's a surprise."

 

"Ooo a surprise. Well Brother, this one must be different. Usually you'd have… you know, by now and moved on. Little Castiel must be special,” Benny says. Dean blushes again.

 

“You have no idea.”

 

“Well Brother, good for you. If Little Castiel makes you happy, who am I to judge?” Benny declares thumping Dean on the back and making his way to his locker, “Catch you later,” he calls over his shoulder.

 

*~*~*~*~

 

Castiel makes it to school without as much as a peep out of his siblings. They’re being surprisingly civil to each other. Castiel strolls to his locker, eyes cast down, deep in thought. He’s spinning open the combination when he feels the words “Hey Cas,” whispered by his ear, so close the persons warm breath causes shivers down his spine. Cas spins around shocked. Dean is standing right behind him, so close that Cas can feel the heat radiating from his body.

 

“Hello Dean,” Cas smiles.

 

“How’re you doin’?” Dean asks, slipping his hands into his pockets. Cas takes a moment to really look at Dean. From his faded grey tee to his worn jeans and black boots, Dean looks the same as he normally does. Except, his bruises are fading and his eyes seem brighter, more vibrant.

 

“I’m good. You know what would make me better?” Cas asks shyly.

 

“What?” Dean asks, a small crease appearing between his eyebrows as he thinks.

 

“If I knew what we were doing this weekend,” Cas answers. Dean’s face breaks out in a mischievous grin.

 

“Nope. It’s a surprise,” Dean laughs. Cas pouts, which only makes Dean laugh harder. “Sorry Cas,” Dean says. “I gotta get to class, see you later?” Cas nods, as Dean begins to back away, green eyes shining with something that Cas can’t quite place. Joy? Excitement? It bugs Cas all the way to first period.

 

***

Cas meets Kevin at lunch. Kevin’s sitting alone at their usual table, homework and assignments strewn across the aluminium table top. Cas makes his way over to his friend. “Hey,” he greets, sitting down across from his friend.

 

“Hey Castiel,” Kevin says, not taking his eyes off his work. Cas isn’t oblivious to the tension surrounding the two. He hasn’t been a very good friend lately. He knows he’s been ignoring Kevin.

 

“Um, look I know I’ve kind of been neglecting you lately…”

 

“Yeah you have Castiel, I thought we were friends?” Kevin says, turning hurt eyes to Cas making him feel instantly guilty.

 

“I’m sorry.” They stare at each other for a moment after the confession. Kevin breaks first.

 

“Well, I haven’t exactly been that great of a friend either. So it’s Ok. We’re good.” Kevin says with a small smile.

 

“Ok, good thank you,” Cas smiles back. “So what are you working on here?” Cas asks, changing the subject. Kevin immediately launches into a lengthy explanation. Things were back to normal with his friend and Cas was glad. “Sounds complex,” Cas nods once Kevin had finished.

 

“Yeah. It’s horrible. I can’t wait to hand the damn thing in,” Kevin grumbles. Cas chuckles. “So what’s been going on in your life Cas?” Kevin asks, taking the subject off his assignment.

 

“Um,” Cas blushes.

 

“Dean, right?” Kevin smiles knowingly. Cas nods.

 

“We’re going on a date on Saturday,” Cas confirms. Kevin grins.

 

“Go Castiel!” Kevin exclaims, holding out a hand for a high-five. Cas hits the outstretched hand with a laugh. It’s almost as if someone hits a switch inside Kevin because he sobers in the next instant and says, “Just be careful Cas, you know how Dean is he can be a little…”

 

“No. Dean is good. He’s kind and funny and caring,” Castiel cuts Kevin off a little irritated.

 

“Alright, alright,” Kevin holds his hands up in surrender. “I’m just saying. But if he makes you happy…”

 

“He does.”

 

“Then that’s Ok. Now back to this date…” Kevin switches the subject. Cas’ irritation evaporates and he blushes again thinking about what Dean could be planning for their date.

 

“It’s a surprise,”

 

“What! You mean you don’t even know where you’re going?” Kevin hisses, outraged. Cas shakes his head no and Kevin nearly falls off his chair. “Well I want all the details on Sunday after you get back!”

 

They continue to banter back and forth about Castiel’s date with Dean until the bell that signals the end of lunch rings. Cas is feeling good. He’s slightly nervous about his date, but he knows he shouldn’t be. Dean would never do anything to hurt him.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so excited about this chapter. It's Cas and Dean's date and it's hella long... well for this fic anyway.

Cas paces around his room, running his hands through his hair. He glared at the two button up shirts laid out on the bed before him. He'd been doing this for over twenty minutes. It shouldn't be this hard to pick clothing to wear. Cas did it every day for school, why was today so different? He knew the answer to that question, it wasn’t every day that he went on a date with Dean. Cas was pulling out other options when someone began knocking a rhythm on his bedroom door. "Yes?" he shouts, back to the door. It opens and Cas hears two sets of footfalls enter. This can't be good. Turning, Cas spies Anna lounging in his desk chair and Gabe sprawled on his bed beside the two shirts.

 

"Somebody is nervous about his date with Dean-o," Gabe sings happily. Cas glowers at him, turning to Anna for help.

 

"I don't know what to wear," he whines. Anna gets up from the chair and walks over to inspect Cas' choices.

 

“Urg Cas you are definitely the girl in this relationship,” Gabe mutters, Anna throws one of Cas’ textbooks at him. “Ouch that hurt.”

 

"Don’t be a prick then,” Anna glares. “Now, Cassie, you're going to wear those jeans?" she asks referring to the ones Cas already had on. Cas nods, Anna was the best sister, fiercely loyal and she loves with everything she has. The two shirts Cas were debating over were both button ups although one was a light sky blue colour with long sleeves and the other was black with short sleeves. Anna seemed to grimace at both. "Where are you going on this date?" she questions, turning to Cas with a raised eyebrow. He blushes and Anna's mouth drops open in an O shape. "You don't know?! How are you supposed to dress appropriately?" she buzzes around the room, pushing Cas back into the desk chair. "Sit." Gabe rolls his eyes from where he's lying back on Cas' comforter.

 

"It's just a date. Dean-o wouldn't care if you turned up naked," Gabriel huffs, sitting up. Anna throws a balled up shirt at him before returning to digging around in Cas' wardrobe. “So while Anna finishes making a mess of your OCD clean folding, I have something for you,” Gabe tells Castiel. Cas swallows hard, this can’t be good. Gabriel pulls out a little foil square from his jeans pocket, and flicks it at Cas. Castiel attempts to catch it and misses, it falls to the ground.

 

“Is that…” Cas begins, bending to pick up the little square that proudly states _Durex_. “GABE! Oh my God,” Castiel exclaims mortified.

“Hey! I’m being optimistic and precautious,” Gabe reasons wiggling his eyebrows, while Cas just glares at him.

“It’s the first date!”

“ALRIGHT! I FOUND SOMETHING,” Anna yells over the brother’s arguing. She pulls out a white cotton tee with a black breast pocket and a brown blazer. “Here put these on,” she holds them out expectantly. Cas shoots her a grateful smile and puts them on. Anna makes a content noise before she begins running her fingers through Cas’ hair.

“Er… what are you doing?” Castiel asks, trying to escape. Anna grabs his wrist, pinning him in place.

“Fixing your hair, what did you do to it?!” she mutters, “Gabe, get me my hairbrush, a comb, a spray bottle of water and the styling gel,” Anna demands, snapping her fingers.

“Why the hell should I?” Gabe asks outraged.

“Because you’re the best brother ever,” Anna replies sweetly, batting her eyelashes. Gabe rolls his eyes, hopping up from the bed.

“ _Sure_ ,” he mutters making Castiel snicker.

“Don’t you laugh,” Anna says sternly, pulling Castiel over to the bathroom she makes him stand before the mirror and gets to work on his hair. Gabe brings back her demands and Anna really goes to town.

Fifteen minutes later Anna’s given up and Cas’ hair only looks marginally neater. His hair really does have a mind of its own. Little did Castiel know, that while Anna was fussing over his hair, Gabriel had slipped the condom into the back pocket of Cas’ jeans, Gabe was confident that they’d find it when the time came and Dean-o wasn’t prepared. He was the best brother ever.

*~*~*~*~*

Dean fidgets in the front seat of the Impala. He was waiting outside Cas’ house, he tooted the horn once to alert Castiel of his presence and it wasn’t long before the front door opened and Cas was bounding towards the car. Dean smiles as Cas slides into the passenger seat beside him, “Hey Cas,” he greets. “You look good.”

“Hello Dean and thank you,” Cas replies ears turning a shade of rose at the compliment.

“You ready to go?” Dean asks, starting the car, Castiel pats his pockets, checking to make sure he has his wallet, phone, house key… he pats his back pocket; the sound of foil seemingly echoes in the interior of the Impala. “What was that?” Dean asks with a frown. Castiel flushes a deep red.

“Oh my God,” he mutters in horror, pulling out the condom. Dean stares at the small square in amusement. “Dean I… My brother he… I don’t…” Cas stutters, slipping the condom back into his pocket, flinching at the sound of crinkling foil as if it’s physically hurting him just by being here.

“Hey it’s Ok, don’t worry about it,” Dean reassures him, pulling out of the driveway. 

“Gabriel… he must have put it there, I’m sorry,” Cas tries to explain, wringing his hands in his lap. Dean lets out a chuckle, placing his hand over Cas’ stilling their nervous movement.

“It’s Ok, trust me,” Dean says, giving Cas’ hands a squeeze. “Relax.” With Dean’s words the anxiety seems to melt out of Castiel. He leans back comfortably in the leather seat and a small smile makes its way tentatively onto his face. They sit in comfortable silence for a moment before Cas asks,

“So… where are we going today?” Dean glances at him long enough to wink, conspiratorially.

“Still a surprise,” he says simply. Cas huffs out a sigh before turning puppy-dog eyes that could rival Sam’s, on Dean. “No, don’t look at me like that!” Dean laughs, concentrating back on the road.

“Pleeeeease tell me,” Cas pouts. Dean tries his best to ignore Cas’ whines. He would not break. He wouldn’t. He had to be strong. “Deeeeean,” Cas murmurs, placing a kiss to Dean’s knuckles. Dean twitches. “Please,” Another kiss. “Tell,” Another kiss and by this time a little bead of sweat slides down Dean’s temple. “Me,” This time Cas slips one of Dean’s fingers into his mouth and he sucks on it suggestively. Dean grinds his teeth. He had to be strong. He casts his eyes over to Cas’ who looks back at him innocently; blue eyes wide as if he were some angel and not a little demon blackmailing Dean into telling him where they were going with sexual innuendos.

“N-no,” Dean stammers, trying his absolute hardest to concentrate on the road. The last thing they need is for Dean to wrap them around a tree. Dean’s pants begin to grow uncomfortably tighter. Oh God. “Stop,” he pleads, extracting his hand from Cas’ grip. Cas shoots him a devilish grin, but says nothing.

The rest of the trip is silent.

***

“The zoo?” Cas asks staring at the cheery welcome sign before him.

“Yeah, if you don’t wanna go we can leave…” Dean states, shuffling his feet on the asphalt, not meeting Cas’ gaze.

“Would you believe it if I told you I’d never been to a zoo?” Cas utters, grabbing hold of Dean’s hand and lacing their fingers together, as they make their way to the admission booth. At the comment, Dean’s head shoots up.

“Really?” he asks incredulously.

“Yes. I’ve never really gone anywhere, like this, before,” Cas confesses as Dean gets their two tickets and they make their way inside.

“Wow,”

***

Cas grabs a map from one of the little holders and Dean scoffs, “We don’t need one of those.” Cas raises an eyebrow.

“You sure?”

“Yes,” Dean states confidently, leading Cas further into the zoo. Cas rolls his eyes and tucks the map into the pocket of his blazer just to be safe. “Which way do you wanna go?” Dean asks, gesturing to the two paths.

“Let’s look at the ‘Tropical Birds’ first then go left,” Cas suggests. Dean nods in affirmation.

“Sounds like a plan.” They make their way through each exhibit, making small comments about the animals every now and again. “Jesus Christ these monkeys are loud,” Dean mutters in Cas’ ear once they reach the ‘Primates’ exhibit. They’re all jumping around and making an absolute ruckus.

“I’ll say,” Cas replies. They quickly move on. Cas admires the tortoises for what Dean considers way longer than strictly necessary. He leans against the rail separating the animals from the path, a happy look on his face. “Being a tortoise would be great, they’re such peaceful animals,” Cas muses, staring at the boring creatures.

“Yeah, sure, can we go now?” Dean asks bored. Cas rolls his eyes but relents. They view the waterfowl and penguins before moving along to the camels. Children congregate around waiting for a camel ride. “Urg, why would anyone want to ride a camel?” Dean asks, looking at the children laughing and having a great time on the backs of the camels, with disgust. Cas laughs.

“It’s fun?”

“No, camels spit and look that them! They walk weird,” Dean says with finality. Cas chuckles, pulling Dean away from the camels. They wander over to the bears and Dean brightens considerably, almost acting giddily as he watches the bears. “Now bears; they’re awesome. I’d ride a bear,” Dean declares.

“I think that would be dangerous,” Cas says reasonably, Dean shakes his head.

“Not if it was a pet bear. I’d have a pet bear and it would be named Zep,” Dean jokes, knocking his shoulder lightly against Cas’. “What animal would you get as a pet?” Dean asks, walking slowly away from the bears.

“Hmm, I don’t know,”

“C’mon, any animal,” Dean gestures around them with the hand that wasn’t clasped firmly in Cas’.

“Bees,” Cas decides. Dean looks at him incredulously. “What?”

“Out of all the animals, you choose bees?”

“You chose a bear,” Cas shoots back, Dean considers it, before letting it drop. Bees could be cool. The next exhibit is the ‘Creepy Crawlers’ and Dean stops, shaking his head, eyes moving frantically as if looking for an escape. “What?” Cas asks confused, glancing between Dean and the exhibit. “Don’t you like bugs and snakes and things?”

“No. Can we bypass this one?” Dean asks, trying to pull Cas away, back towards the ‘Asian Cats’. Cas nods and they walk away from the ‘Creepy Crawlers’. “Thanks,” Dean says relaxing once more.

They make their way through the whole of the animals on the ‘North American Plains’ and over to the ‘Rare Rhinos of Africa’ exhibit before Dean’s stomach growls. Dean blushes and Cas chuckles. “Hungry? We should stop for lunch, there’s a concession stand up ahead,” Cas says pulling out his map. Again Dean scoffs, so Cas suggests they split up and find their way to the Maasi Market Café alone, Cas with the map and Dean without.

Cas won.

***

After lunch they go over to the giraffes and Cas lights up when he sees the ‘feed the giraffes for $5’ sign. He almost jumps up and down. “Can I feed the giraffes Dean? Please?” he asks, tugging on Dean’s arm like a persistent five year old. Dean smirks but nods and they join the group of people also wanting to feed the giraffes.

Dean pays the five dollars and Cas gets his bundle of kale to feed the tall animals. Cas follows the directions of the zoo staff and before he knows it, he’s standing before a giraffe with five other people, holding out a bundle of kale. Cas holds up the green vegetable for the giraffe and it leans down to grab a mouthful, chewing with vigour. Spit running from its mouth in long strands. Cas laughs, happy that he’s feeding a giraffe! “Dean! Look!” He calls, turning slightly, hoping for Dean to see him feeding the giraffe. What he didn’t expect to see was Dean holding up his phone and snapping a picture of him. “Hey!” He laughs; Dean gives him thumbs up and snaps another. Cas goes back to feeding his giraffe.

When the kale is gone, Cas stands watching the giraffe chew, he goes to step back and the giraffe half shakes it’s head and makes a weird noise. Cas isn’t totally sure what happened, all he knows is that one minute he’s dry and the next he’s being rained on by giraffe drool. “Oh my God!” he exclaims holding his arms away from his body in disgust. Cas turns to the giraffe and gives it his worse ‘how dare you, I trusted you’ look. The internet meme; ‘I came out to have a good time and honestly I’m feeling so attacked right now’ would apply to the how Cas is feeling right now towards his giraffe. The people around him move to give him a wide berth, sniggering and pointing. Some of the children hide behind their parents. Other people openly laugh out loud making Cas’ horror and absolute humiliation that much worse.

“I’m so sorry, Sir,” the zoo keeper, mumbles, trying and failing to hid her amusement. Cas gives her a tight lipped smile.

“It’s Ok,” he mutters, walking away, back towards Dean who is doubled over laughing. “This isn’t funny Dean!” Cas cries storming away from him, mortified. Dean chases after him, calling his name.

“Cas stop! I’m sorry but you have to admit. It’s pretty funny,” Dean says catching up to him. Cas tries to stay mad, but in hindsight he can see that being sneezed on by a giraffe and being covered in spit and bits of kale could be funny, he smirks.

“I bet it was,” he mutters, continuing on his way to the restrooms to get cleaned up. Dean follows behind.

“I even got a picture of all that shit falling on you, your face was priceless,” Dean chuckles, Cas pouts.

Once inside Cas begins to wet paper towels and wipe away the giraffe drool. Dean helps, dabbing at his neck. In the small room, they’re very close together and Cas can’t help but notice how Dean’s tongue sits at the corner of his lips as he concentrates on cleaning the bits of kale out of Cas’ hair. Dean notices Cas’ lack of movement, eyes flicking from Cas’ azure ones to his lips then back again.

“Cas?” he asks, wiping a thumb across Cas’ cheekbone. Leaning closer Cas presses his lips to Dean’s, who quickly reciprocates. His gentle brush of lips quickly become more heated, he cups a hand at the back of Dean’s neck and brushes his tongue across the seam of Dean’s lips, fisting his other hand in Dean’s tee to hold him closer. Dean opens his mouth and their tongues swirl together. Dean presses his body against Cas’ pushing them against the basin, Cas’ back presses almost painfully into the porcelain but in that moment he doesn’t care. Dean cups Cas’ face in his palms, his calloused fingertips brushing along the minute stubble on Cas’ jaw. Dean breaks the kiss, breathing hard, before dipping to pepper kisses along where his fingers just were, causing Cas to arch back into the light touch. “Dean,” he gasps.

A cough and someone clearing their throat obnoxiously loudly breaks their trance. Dean takes a step back from Cas, blushing slightly. “Oops,” he murmurs.

“This is a public bathroom,” a man snaps irritated, “ _children_ use it, have some _respect_.” Dean and Cas quickly clean the rest of the giraffe spit off Cas before they exit the restroom, luckily his blazer caught most of it.

“Um… to the zebras?” Cas suggests, grabbing Dean’s hand as they practically sprint away from the restroom.

***

The rest of the day passes without so much as a hiccup. Dean drives Cas back to his house and walks him to the door. “I had a great time,” Cas reveals, nervously. Dean smiles, happy with Cas’ confession.

“I did too,” he responds. They stand awkwardly at Cas’ doorstep for a moment. “So…um I should go. See you on Monday?” Dean asks. Cas nods, glancing up at Dean, who leans forwards and presses his lips to Cas’. The kiss is sweet and nothing like the restroom kiss at the zoo.

“My siblings are watching us,” Cas whispers against Dean’s lips.

“Good, let them,” Dean replies, pressing his lips against Cas’ more firmly before stepping back. “Bye Cas,”

“Good bye, Dean.” Cas waits until Dean had driven away before going inside to face his family. A buzz in his pocket, draws him up short, pulling out his phone it declares ‘One New Message’.

Dean: ***One New Attachment* I think he liked you and just wanted a kiss. You give good kisses.**

Cas opened the attachment; it was one of the photos Dean took while Cas was feeding that horrible giraffe. He was turned towards the phone, he looked happy, smiling, his eyes were lit up with what only could be described as joy. Cas smiled at the photo, it was a good photo.

Castiel: **Thank you, Dean.**

He knew questions were going to be slung at him left right and centre. With a deep breath, he went inside to face the wolves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments are greatly appreciated. I wanna know what you all thought about the kiss.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy. We're getting to the end of the road. I can see the finish line.

Dean spent all Saturday night and Sunday working on his essay. He even locked himself inside his room so nothing would distract him. After a good two and a half hours on Saturday and seven hours on Sunday the result is seven hundred and sixty four glorious words about the character development of Jay Gatsby throughout the novel. And Dean couldn’t be happier. He hits ‘save’ about a thousand times just to be sure and logs off the computer. He shoots off a quick text to Cas.

 

Dean: **I have a surprise for you!**

 

Castiel: **What is it? :)**

 

Dean: **You’ll find out @ library.**

 

Castiel: **You are the most stubborn person I have ever met Dean Winchester.**

 

Dean: **Aw you love me anyway :)**

 

With a little happy dance he exits the room and runs downstairs for a snack. Upon reaching the kitchen he sees Sam and Bobby making pie. “What’s this for?” Dean asks, dipping his finger into the sweet filling. Sam slaps his hand away a moment too late. Dean over-exaggeratedly licks the filling from his finger to spite Sam.

 

“It’s for two reasons; first, you actually did your essay Cas has been helping you prep for and second, because a date has been set for dad’s trial and Bobby is confident we’ll win,” Sam exclaims grinning at Dean.

 

“Awesome.”

 

***

That night after dinner they ate pie and watched football. Bobby even reluctantly let Sam have a beer. Dean texted Cas throughout the night, Cas still pestered Dean about his newest surprise, but without him being able to suck on Dean’s fingers this time, it was easier to say no to Castiel. Bobby soon heads to bed, leaving the brothers alone. “Who’re you texting?” Sam asks, jumping on Dean and snatching his phone out of his big brothers hands. Dean quickly pins Sam to the floor, sitting on his back, holding Sam’s hands behind his back.

 

“C’mon Sammy you didn’t think you’d be able to beat me did ya?” Dean taunts, pressing Sam’s face into the carpet. “You need some more meat on those scrawny bones.”

 

“Let me up!” Sam’s cry is muffled into the carpet. Dean laughs, pulling his brother up.

 

“Try again in like four years,” Dean mocks, Sam gives Dean a bitchface.

 

“It’s Cas isn’t it,” Sam grumbles, rubbing a hand over the slight redness covering one side of his face; the side that was pressed to the carpet. Dean smirks. “It is! I knew it!”

 

“So what if it is?” Dean shoots back, collapsing back onto the couch.

 

“You’re so whipped,” Sam smirks dropping down next to Dean. Dean bats him upside the head. “Ow.”

 

“Am not!”

 

“You so are,” Sam replies, ducking out of the way of Dean’s next hit.

 

***

Dean practically runs to the library after school. He arrives before Cas and secures their usual table. He’s excited to show Cas his finished essay. After a good three weeks of procrastinating, Dean finished it in a good four days, he’s not ashamed to admit he’s proud of himself. Dean opens his laptop and pulls up the file, he has a minor heart attack when the page takes a couple minutes to load, but once it’s up he checks it over. His essay is safe. He waits for a couple minutes, scared that Cas isn’t going to show. He needn’t worry, Cas walks through the library door, head down, trying not to draw attention to himself. Dean smiles fondly at Castiel. When Cas approaches the table he looks up, he seems momentarily surprised that Dean is there before him, but that surprise morphs into happiness. “You have a surprise for me?” he asks hopefully, sitting down across from Dean.

 

“I do,” Dean smiles, sliding the laptop over to Cas. Cas frowns, eyes scanning the document. As he reads, his eyes grow wide, flicking from Dean back to the screen.

 

“Is this…” He asks, scrolling down. “your essay? You finished it!” Cas exclaims, jumping up from his seat and leaning across the table to press a kiss to Dean’s lips. “This is great! Wow Dean,” Cas says joyfully. He sits back down and Dean smiles bashful.

 

“I worked on it all weekend,” Dean reveals, playing with his hands in his lap. Cas nods, beginning to thoroughly read it and help edit. Dean waits patiently. Cas fixes it up a little in places and types in little pointers that Dean can fix in the hour they have in the library. Cas hands the laptop back with a proud smile.

 

“This is good Dean, Henricksen will be impressed. I’m proud of you,” Cas praises, squeezing Dean’s hand. Dean brings their clasped hands to his lips and presses a kiss to Cas’ knuckles.

 

“Thanks Cas.”

 

After the hour is up and they begin to pack up their things Dean offers to drive Cas home so he doesn’t have to walk. “It’s no trouble,” Dean says, twining his fingers through Cas’ as they walk out to the parking lot. Cas turns to Dean, brow furrowed.

 

“Would you really drive me home?” Cas asks. Dean nods earnestly.

 

“Of course,” he confirms. Cas smiles.

 

“Ok, thank you,” Cas relents and Dean pulls them towards the Impala.

 

***

Arriving at Cas’ house Dean insists on walking Cas to the door, despite Cas’ protests. Dean shakes his head, “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t walk my boyfriend to the door?” Dean asks, in mock seriousness.

 

“Boyfriend?” Cas questions, raising an eyebrow. Dean blushes.

 

“Well, I er.. if you w-wanted to be I wouldn’t object,” Dean stutters. Cas laughs.

 

“I’m joking. Of course I want to be,” Cas says leaning over and planting a kiss to Dean’s cheek. “Come on then,” Cas moves to get out of the Impala, Dean following. Dean rounds the hood of the car to meet Cas and they walk up to Cas’ house together. Just as they get to the door it opens as Cas knew it would. His siblings have been watching Dean like the vultures they are. They’ve been waiting to strike and now’s their chance. Michael and Gabe crowd into the doorframe.

 

“Hello Dean,” Michael says politely, holding out a hand for Dean to shake, Dean shakes it with a nod to him and Gabriel. Cas glares at his brothers and give them an ‘are you kidding me’ look, Gabe smirks. “Well are you not going to introduce us, Castiel?” Michael asks. Cas glares at him.

 

“Michael and Gabriel, you already know Gabe,” Cas says pointing to each brother. Dean places a hand on the small of Cas’ back in an attempt to calm him down. It really wasn’t a big deal. “This has been lovely, but Dean really has to go. Don’t you Dean?” Cas says attempting to get his brothers to go back inside.

 

“Um… yeah,” Dean says smirking at Cas. “Nice meeting you,” he says to Michael. Michael nods. Cas pleads with his eyes for Dean to leave. Dean chuckles and begins to walk back to the Impala. “See you at school Cas,” he shouts before hopping back in the car and starting it with a roar.

 

“That car is extremely bad for the environment,” Michael states. Cas facepalms and pushes past his two brothers to get inside.

 

“I can’t believe you two,” Cas growls running upstairs to his room. The last thing he needs is Dean being scared off by his crazy family whose preferred method of communication is shouting.

 

***

Sometime later, Castiel is lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling when someone knocks on his door. Cas ignores it. The person keeps knocking. Castiel knows that they’re going to keep knocking until he does something about it. That’s just how his siblings are. “Urgh what?” he shouts. Michael opens the door and steps inside. “What do you want?” Cas asks, turning to face the wall. Michael moves closer and sits at the end of Castiel’s bed.

 

“I just wanted to talk to you… about Dean,” he starts, slowly, almost as if he’s carefully selecting his words before he says them.

 

“What? Are you going to tell me I can’t see him because he’s a guy? It might shame you that I’m gay and… well I’m sorry, but it’s just the way it is. I like Dean. A lot and I’m going to keep seeing him and there’s nothing you can do,” Castiel rants until he’s breathing heavily and frustrated tears threaten to burn their way down his cheeks. He realises that he actually just came out to Michael. He hadn’t actually said out loud what he’d known for a while. He’s gay.

 

“Are you done?” Michael asks quietly.

 

“Yes,” Cas states hoarsely.

 

“Good. Because I wasn’t going to say any of that. I don’t care that Dean’s a guy. I don’t care that you’re gay. I care that you’re happy and I can see that Dean makes you happy,” Michael says earnestly. So earnestly that Castiel sits up and faces him, clutching a pillow to his chest like a shield. “Castiel, you are my brother and I love you no matter what.”

 

“Really?” he asks softly. Michael nods.

 

“If Dean makes you happy…”

 

“He does.”

 

“Then that’s all that matters to me.” The tears Cas had been holding back, roll down his cheeks. Relief pushes Castiel into his brother’s arms and he sobs into Michael’s chest. Castiel hugs Michael tightly. " You should invite Dean to have dinner with us Sunday night," Michael suggests. Cas frowns.

 

"Really?"

 

"Yes. I would like to get to know Dean, after all he's the only person who I've ever seen you take any sort of interest in," Michael reasons.

 

“Thank you,” he whispers, leaning back, looking into Michaels watery eyes. Michael nods, standing up. He leaves Cas sitting on his bed, trying to get his emotions under control. Castiel realises that as much as his family is dysfunctional, they love each other and nothing will be able to change that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was told that this chapter is a bit cliché but I don't care it's fanfiction not poetry.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finished writing everything so I figured you all would enjoy another chapter. You're welcome.   
> There are only two chapters after this one. The next chapter is Dean having dinner at Cas' house and then the epilogue after that.

When Dean and Sam arrive at school on Tuesday morning, Dean is surprised to see Cas waiting for him. Sam smirks at Dean before making his hasty escape into the school. Dean ambles over to Cas, who has a shy smile on his face and is nervously popping his knuckles as he waits for Dean's approach. "Hey Cas," Dean greets, giving him a peck on the cheek. Cas blushes and glances surreptitiously around. "Don't worry nobody cares," Dean reassures. "If they do I'll knock their lights out." Cas rolls his eyes at Dean's blatant display of supposed masculinity. Cas holds out his hand to Dean as he begins to walk towards the school. Dean takes it. "I can't wait to see Henricksen's fucking face when I drop that essay onto his desk," Dean beams. Cas squeezes his hand.

 

"Neither can I," Cas murmurs and takes a deep breath before continuing, "So… um… I was wondering… if you would like to… er have dinner with my family and I… um Sunday night?" Cas says slowly redness tinging the tips of his ears, Cas stares studiously at the ground as he waits for Dean's reply. "You don't have to, I don't want to force you into doing anything that you'd be uncomfortable with…" Cas rambles. Dean stops and pulls a startled Cas into his arms, he muffles the rest of Cas' sentence with a kiss. Pulling back he whispers,

 

"Hey Cas. Stop rambling, I'd like to have dinner with your family and you." Cas face lights up with joy and he presses his lips to Dean's. Arousal begins to swirl around in the pit of Dean's stomach and he quickly pulls back before he has an embarrassingly large tent in his jeans. Dean's just about to step out of Cas' embrace when a very obnoxious someone yells,

 

"Faggots!" Dean stiffens, rage bubbling away inside of him. He takes a step away from Cas searching for the owner of the insult. He still keeps a firm grip on Cas' hand. When he finds the son of a bitch he's gonna…

 

"Dean, stop it's Ok," Cas whispers calmingly, pulling Dean closer to the brick building. "Calm down he only wants a rise out of you. Take a deep breath," Cas tells him reasonably. Dean knows he's right but he can't help the anger at people who are that fucking self-absorbed and judgmental that they can't be happy for others. Cas stares into his eyes, waiting for Dean to do as he said. Dean takes a large gulp of air and methodically lets it out giving Cas a small smile. "Good?" Dean nods and they continue into the building.

 

*~*~*~*~*~

Cas left Dean at his locker and went to his own. He twisted the lock methodically, saying the numbers in his head in time with his twists. It pops open and he pulls his bag from his shoulders. He had English and Math for his first two periods. He grabbed out his few books, double checking his essay was safely tucked into his English notebook. The last thing he needs his Henricksen getting on his case about an overdue assignment. Slamming the locker closed he ambled to English.

 

He took his usual seat and waited for Dean. Henricksen walked in a couple minutes before the bell and Cas figured now was a good a time as any to hand in his essay, so getting up he approached the teacher’s desk. "Mr Novak," Henricksen sneered. Cas placed the essay in front of him. "Handing it in a day early. As usual," Henricksen quips. Cas says nothing and returns to his seat. Cas leans back in his chair, glancing at the wall clock. Two minutes until class begins. _Where is Dean?_ He thinks, turning in his chair to see if Benny was present. He was not. Cas re-faced the front with a sigh. Dean would be here.

 

Right on the bell, Dean and Benny burst into the room. Benny has maracas and is shaking them to the beat to Queen's _We Will Rock You._ "Hey Mr Henricksen," Dean greets with a shit eating grin.

 

"Mr Winchester. Mr Lafitte. What are you doing?" Henricksen says bored, crossing his arms over his chest. Benny continues to shake the instruments to the beat. This spurs someone to actually get out their phone and begin to play the song. Around the class people begin to bang on the desks to the beat. _Buddy you're a boy make a big noise. Playin in the street gonna be a big man someday. You got mud on yo' face. You big disgrace. Kickin' your can all over the place. Singin'_

 

" _We will, we will rock you!_ " Someone sings, Cas recognises the voice as Lisa's. "Come on everyone!"

 

" _We will, we will rock you!_ " Benny and Dean belt. The class continue to thump the desks and clap. Cas gapes. What the hell is going on?

 

"Stop this!" Henricksen shouts, standing up and glaring at Dean and Benny. Cas glares at Henricksen. This was it. He was going to finally stop being the shy nerd everyone thinks he is. With a deep breath Cas began,

 

" _Buddy you're a young man hard man. Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day. You got blood on yo' face. You big disgrace. Wavin' your banner all over the place_ ," Cas sings, defiantly. Someone claps him on the back, Cas turns to see someone he doesn't know give him a thumbs up and a big smile.

 

" _WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU!_ The class sing. " _WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU!_ " Some people stand up, pumping their fists in the air.

 

"Buddy you're an old man poor man. Pleadin' with your eyes gonna make you some peace some day. You got mud on your face. Big disgrace. Somebody better put you back into your place!" Benny and Dean shout together.

 

" _WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU! WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU!_ " The class shout.

 

"Stop! STOP!" Henricksen fumes.

 

" _WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU! WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU!"_

 

"Guitar solo!" Dean shouts and at least half the class bust out air guitars, much to Henricksens distaste.

 

"DEAN WINCHESTER!" Henricksen shrieks once the song had ended and the class returns to normal.

 

"Yes sir?" Dean asks nonchalantly.

 

"I have no idea what's going through that thick head of yours but…"

 

"I'll tell ya," Dean says, cutting Henricksen off mid-rant. "I finished my essay and this was me celebrating."

 

"Well good on you," Henricksen snaps sarcastically. "If you finished your essay then where the hell is it!" Dean pulls out the sheets of paper and waves them in the air like a victory flag.

 

"Right here!" Dean says, with a wink at Cas who blushes.

 

"You better hope to God that that is a passing grade right there or so help me…" Henricksen growls, holding out his hand for the paper.

 

"It will be, cuz I had the best tutor anyone could possibly have gotten," Dean says confidently, turning to Cas who blushes bright red.

 

"Whatever. Get in your seats or get out," Henricksen grumbles. Dean gives him a wink, turning to give Benny and high five before shuffling down the rows of desks to Cas. He sits in the spare seat beside him, reaching under the desk to give Cas' hand a squeeze. Cas can't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside. "Now I can finally begin my lesson…" Henricksen grumbles, turning to the board.

 

***

 

 At lunch Cas tells Kevin all about Dean and Benny's antics. "I really thought that Henricksen was going to kick him out. He was seething," Cass says shaking his head reverently. Kevin snorts.

 

"Maybe Winchester is warming up to him," he suggests. Cas shrugs. "So…" Kevin begins, changing the subject. Cas looks up from his apple and waits for his friend to continue. "You know Channing?" Kevin asks, flushing slightly. Cas frowns. He's heard the name before but putting a face to it was another matter entirely. "Straight black hair. Rockin hips. Smart," Kevin lists. Suddenly as if a light bulb goes off in Cas' mind he vaguely recalls a girl in his Biology class by the name of Channing.

 

"Yes. What about her?" Cas questions, taking a bite from his apple.

 

"We're going on a date." Cas nearly chokes on the bit of fruit in his mouth.

 

"What?" Cas splutters. "Wow that's great Kevin," Cas smiles, reaching for the bottle of water on the aluminium lunch table before him.

 

"Yeah. I asked her the other day and now, God it's on Friday. I'm taking her to the movies," Kevin explains, nervously. Cas nods along encouragingly.

 

"Good for you Kevin. Channing is one lucky lady." Kevin rolls his eyes at Cas' comment. He opens his mouth to reply but is cut off by the bell.

 

"See ya later, Castiel," Kevin says standing up and walking away. Cas gives him a wave before turning to go in the other direction. 

 

***

When Cas got home be was practically bombarded with questions by one very over excited Anna. "Did you ask him? Did he say yes? I bet he did! I heard about what he did in class today! Ah I'm so happy for you!" And then proceeded to pull him into a bone crushing hug.

 

"Anna I… can't breathe," Cas choked, feebly attempting to get out of his sister's death grip. Releasing him, Anna bounced a little a giant smile threatening to crack her face in half.

 

"Well? Did you ask?" she demands.

 

"Yes."

 

"What'd he say?!" Anna shakes him a little, impatient for her answer. 

 

"He said yes!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously I don't own the song so don't hit me with a rock for copyright infringement.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last official chapter!! The next is the epilogue.  
> Thanks to everyone who has been reading along :D Your comments and kudos are amazing and I love you guys. Thank you so much.

Dean arrives at Cas’ house around seven. His palms are sweaty and his heart is hammering away at his ribs. He smooths down the navy button down Sam made him wear. Nervous doesn’t even begin to describe how he’s feeling as he takes his time approaching the door. Over the past few weeks Cas has told him about his family. Dean knows that his mother is dead, like his own, and that his father works away. He knows Cas’ lives with his four siblings; Michael being the eldest followed by Lucifer then Anna and then Gabe with Cas being the youngest. Cas has told him about Michael being a controlling bastard most of the time and that Lucifer would be considered the black sheep of the Novak flock while the youngest three siblings are the closest. Cas spoke of his brothers and sister with affection although under it all, Dean could see that Cas wishes that maybe they could be a little closer. Like he and Sam.

Dean knocks on the door and steps back, waiting with bated breath. It isn’t long before he hears several sets of feet thundering towards the door. A few muffled protests and then Anna is throwing open the door a flustered looking Castiel standing just behind her. “Dean! It’s so great to see you,” Anna gushes, reaching out an arm to reel him into a hug. Dean awkwardly pats her back in retaliation while Cas looks absolutely mortified by his sisters actions. He mouths ‘I’m sorry’ but Dean just shoots him a grin. Pulling back Anna smiles widely. “Welcome to our humble abode,” she says grandly, gesturing further into the entryway and then slamming the door shut. Dean flinches at the loud bang.

“Thanks for having me. Hey Cas.”

“Hello Dean,” Cas replies shyly, he clearly has no idea how to act around his sister. He folds his hands together before him and they stand in a moment of awkward silence, the air thick with tension.

“Well I’ll just go check on dinner then,” Anna says, taking her leave. She heads off, leaving Cas and Dean standing in the entry.

“How are you doin’?” Dean asks, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans and leaning casually against the wall. He lets his eyes scan over the entry. The walls are painted a cream and there are photos of the Novak siblings growing up framed on the wall. He can pinpoint Cas in one of them, a small child with unruly dark hair smiling brightly next to a girl with fiery red hair; Anna. Dean opens his mouth to say something else when suddenly Cas has launched himself at Dean. He barely has time to open his arms to catch Cas before he has a pair of lips on his and a tongue dancing in his mouth. When they break away both are breathing hard and Dean is staring wide eyed at Cas, who’s still has his hands clenched firmly in his button down. “Whoa,” Dean mutters. Cas just smirks.

“I didn’t want to do that in front of Anna, much to her probable disheartenment,” Cas replies, extracting his hands from Dean’s shirt to clasp one of Dean’s hands and pull him further into the house. “I suppose I should show you a tour of the house.” Dean nods dumbly, his brain was still trying to comprehend what had just happened. Did it even happen? The tingling in his lips says so.

Cas leads him into the kitchen where Anna and Gabe are staring into the oven looks of horror on their face. Cas sighs. “What happened?” Gabe looks up and shrugs, nodding to Dean. Anna looks as if she’s about to cry.

“I don’t know. When I put it in the oven it looked fine and now…”

“It exploded,” Gabe finishes, moving to sit on the breakfast bar.

“What exploded?” Dean butts in, he’s confused. What are they talking about?

“It’s just like the tuna casserole all over again!” Anna whines in anguish. Gabe snorts in amusement. Dean looks between the Novak siblings. When Anna mentioned the tuna casserole, understanding lit up on Cas’ face. Obviously something like this is a common occurrence.

Cas turns to Dean and explains, “Anna has attempted to cook us dinner. But it seems that we will not be eating it. Last time she tried to make a tuna and cheese casserole and I think it gave us a mild sort of food poisoning.”

“It did not Castiel!” Anna protests, but Gabe nods along with Cas’ words.

“It did,” Gabe confirms.

“I may have exaggerated a little,” Cas confesses. “But it was absolutely disgusting,” he adds, seeing Anna’s triumphant look. She glares at him. Dean laughs at the sibling’s banter. It was nice to see Cas joking around once and a while. At school he is so stoic and focused, no wonder nobody wants to get to know him. He doesn’t even really make an effort. But seeing him in an environment where he’s comfortable, Dean is able to see a different side of Cas. Cas laughs along with Dean, Dean watches as his eyes shine with an almost ethereal glow; joy. He really was beautiful, with his ever messy hair and his big blue eyes and Dean was filled with a sense of pride that he is able to call Cas his.

It isn’t long before Cas is pulling him from the kitchen and into the lounge room. Its big and stylish with a flat screen TV and leather couches. Dean marvels at the room. From the floor to ceiling bookcases to the TV to the couches and the fireplace in the corner. It was a room that he could only dream of being able to set foot in and now he is. It’s a far cry from their dingy little threadbare couch and analogue TV. “Wow, this is amazing,” Dean says in awe. He can feel a little jealousy making it’s bitter way around his body and he pushes it down. It doesn’t matter. Cas is great and he likes Dean for the way he is so Dean should do the same. Cas blushes.

“I think it’s a bit much, but Gabriel was insistent on the size of the television. The books are a combination of mine and Michaels,” Cas informs. Dean nods along. It really was an impressive collection. Sam would die of ecstasy.  Dean says as much, earning a chuckle from Cas.

The next rooms are the usual, bathroom, laundry ect. Then it’s onto upstairs; the bedrooms. Cas points out each as they come to it. Anna’s closest to the staircase then Gabriel’s across the hall then Michael’s and across is Cas. Cas points to the last door at the end and says, “That’s Lucifer’s. I’m pretty sure he’s in there right now with um Monica? Moira? I can’t remember her name. They may or may not come out for dinner. Anyway, this is mine,” and he throws open the door.

Dean glances inside, Cas gestures for him to go in and he happily complies. It’s not that he wants to snoop, but he’ll admit that it would be nice to get a bit of an insight into where Cas spends his time. It’s a standard bedroom. Twin bed off to the side a royal blue comforter neatly made over it. A set of bookshelves near a desk which is piled high with all sorts of papers, books and writing utensils. To Dean it looks like a mess, but knowing Cas there would be some sort of order to the chaos. He knew better not to touch anything. The walls are a light grey which match the wardrobe in the corner. “This is nice, Cas,” Dean comments, taking a seat in the desk chair, turning to look at Cas, who is standing by the door. He smiles shyly at Dean.

“I’m glad you like it.” They chat about various things before Anna is calling everyone to dinner.

***

Dinner ended up being pizza, not that Dean minded. To tell the truth, he would have been more uncomfortable with a fancy meal. When he and Cas appeared in the kitchen, Anna and Gabe had set the table, stacking the pizza onto plates in the centre of the table. Dean stood awkwardly to the side as Cas helped with glasses and paper towels. “We just have to wait for Michael. I called him just before and he said he’s on his way home,” Anna informs. Cas comes back to stand by Dean’s side, noticing how stiff-looking he was alone by the wall. He slips his hand into Dean’s and gives a comforting squeeze.

Lucifer and Monica/Moira enter the kitchen a couple minutes later. Cas introduces Dean hastily. “Dean this is Lucifer and Mo…”

“Moira,” she supplies and thrusts a hand out to Dean, who shakes it. The girl has dark hair and even darker makeup. Lucifer wraps an arm around her waist and leads her to the door, completely ignoring Dean. Not that he cares. From what Cas’ told him, Lucifer seems like a grade A dick.

Once they’re out of the room, Gabe elbows Anna and whispers, “I told ya so,” cockily. Anna rolls her eyes. Another inside joke, Dean assumes. Lucifer re-enters the kitchen and turns his full attention on Dean.

“So, Dean, how are you?” he asks, kindly. He feel’s Cas’ hand tense in his.

“Good. You?” he replies, politely. Lucifer looked a little like Gabriel and nothing like Cas. It was kind of hard to believe they were even brothers at all.

“Yeah I’m good. So, you with Cassie?”

“Lucifer,” Cas warns. Lucifer shoots Cas an innocent look.

“What can’t I take  an interest in my little bro’s life?”

“No. Not when I know all you intend to do it bait Dean into becoming uncomfortable by either using vulgar language, making crude jokes or just being the dickish self you are,” Cas replies with a glare. Dean feels his insides turn all mushy at Cas defending him. He hopes none of those gooey feelings are showing on the outside. The last thing he needs is Gabe or Anna to see a goofy smile or what Sam calls ‘heart eyes.’

“Fine. I won’t then,” Lucifer concedes, although a malicious glint was still vaguely visible in his eyes. Maybe it came with the name?

***

When Michael arrived home everyone sat down to eat. Dean sat next to Cas with Michael at the head of the table closest to him and Gabriel at the other. Anna took the seat across from Dean and Lucifer is across from Castiel. Michael seems relieved when all he finds is pizza for dinner. Anna’s cooking really must be terrible. Dean sits straight-backed in his chair. Anna and Gabe grabbed a piece of pizza each and began to eat heartily, “Dig in,” Gabe mutters, mouth full of pizza. Michael frowns at his blatant lack of table manners. Cas grabs a piece which in turn prompts Dean to take one. Before long everyone is eating in comfortable silence. That is, until Michael’s interrogation begins.

“So Dean, Castiel tells me you have a younger brother…” he prompts, Cas groans, seemingly knowing exactly what his brother is doing. Dean quickly swallows the food in his mouth before replying.

“Yeah, Sam he’s four years younger.” Michael nods, studying Dean’s face and body language. Dean can see that the staring is a trait that runs in the Novak genes.

“Michael, please,” Cas groans, begging with his eyes for his brother to stop asking questions.

“That must be nice,” Michael goes on, completely ignoring Cas. “How would you describe your relationship with your brother?”

“Yeah. We’re close.” Everyone at the table is staring at Dean and it’s making him uncomfortable. It’s not often he has people listening about such personal stuff about his life.

“That’s good… Do you have any plans for your future after school?” Michael asks, taking a dainty bite from his slice. Dean freezes. He hasn’t really thought about it. He’s spent most of his time looking out for Sam. Sweat dampens the back of his neck as he begins to panic. He looks at the tablecloth in front of him as he tries to think of a suitable answer. “Dean?” His eyes flick up to Michael’s.

“Um…” Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. The word repeats itself in his mind like a mantra. He’s about to make his excuses and try to get the hell outta there when he feels Cas’ hand grab his reassuringly under the table. He shoots him a small smile before turning to Michael. “I haven’t really thought about it. I’ve had to look after my brother a lot. But I love cars and I work at Singer’s casually and wouldn’t mind being a mechanic fulltime,” Dean finally answers, praying it’s what Michael wanted to hear. Michael nods encouragingly and Dean breathes a sigh of relief.

“That sounds great, Dean,” Michael responds. Lucifer snorts and all eyes turn to him. If looks could kill, the look Castiel gives him would have knocked him dead.

“A mechanic?” Lucifer asks sarcastically, leaning back in his chair.

“Yes,” Dean replies, trying to keep his annoyance and distain from his voice.

“Leave it, Lucifer,” Cas warns, his voice low and dangerous. A moment of awkward silence follows, the tension between the brothers is thick in the air and Dean feels as if it’s pressing down on him from all sides.

“Well…” Gabriel begins, stretching his arms above his head. “This has been awfully painful and I’d rather not subject myself to anymore of this torture, so I’ll be back later. See ya later Dean. It was nice of you to come,” Gabriel says, grabbing his plate and glass before leaving. A moment later a door upstairs slams shut. Lucifer leaves soon after, except out the front door and Dean can feel Cas relax beside him with his brother’s exit.

The rest of dinner is mostly silent with Anna talking occasionally about her classes and friends and upcoming parties and such.

***

When it comes time for Dean to leave, Cas walks him to the doo lets his eyes scade to the waiting Impala. “I’m sorry,” Cas apologises. “My family is a bit…” Dean cuts him off with a kiss.

“It’s Ok, seriously. My family ain’t exactly normal either,” Dean says, leaning against the door of the sleek car. Cas looks at the asphalt a small smile on his lips.

“Thank you for coming,” he whispers, eyes meeting Dean’s. Dean grins.

“It was my pleasure,” he responds, stepping up to Cas so only a breath separates them. Cas’ smile grows. Dean dips his head and capture’s Cas’ lips again. He sucks Cas’ lower-lip between his teeth and tugs lightly, drawing a little gasp from him. Cas fists the cotton of Dean’s shirt as Dean slips his tongue into Cas’ mouth to tangle with his. When they break away Dean see’s Cas pupils dilated and his lips are a deeper red.

“My, you do have a thing for exhibitionism, Dean Winchester,” Cas mumbles, stepping back. Dean laughs, before waving at the window where Anna and Michael are watching. The curtain quickly closes in their vain attempt to not be found out.

“I should go. Thank you Cas, for everything,” Dean says sincerely as he gets in. Cas frowns, what does he mean by that? Before he gets a chance to ask, Dean is pulling out of the driveway with a rumble, leaving Cas, once again, staring after the car.

*~*~*~*~

Later that night when Cas is lying in bed, his mind keeps winding its way back to Dean’s last comment. _Thank you Cas, for everything._   It’s past midnight and Cas is still rolling around in bed. No matter the position, he can’t get comfortable, Dean’s comment preventing him from sleeping. What did he mean? After another ten minutes he can’t stand it any longer. He throws off the covers and crosses the room to where his phone is sitting on the desk. He taps out a quick text to Dean.

Castiel: **What did you mean? What were you thanking me for?**

The wait for Dean to text back is torturous. He knows that Dean may be in bed. He may be asleep. Cas knows that he may not get a reply until the morning. But that doesn’t stop him from staring at his phone until he feels himself drifting off. The sharp buzz jerks him awake and the phone almost goes flying.

Dean: **Thank you for not ditching me after Henricksen’s blackmail. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for not judging me. Thank you Cas for being you. I realised tonight that I think I love you.**

Dean’s response knocks the air from his lungs. Dean loves him. Does he love Dean? He likes Dean. A lot. A real lot. Could he see himself spending the rest of his life with Dean? The last few months have been some of the best in his life. He’d be an idiot to blame that on anything but the fact that it’s because Dean was the centre of them. With a smile he replies.

Castiel: **I love you too, Dean Winchester.**


	22. Chapter 22

Bobby had been stressing about the upcoming trial for weeks. On the day, Dean was sure that he was going to be drunk before he even got to the courthouse if he had any more liquid courage. He had to shove both brothers out of the house and off to school on the morning of the trial. Both were just as restless as he was. Bobby was dressed in his best suit and his tatty baseball cap was nowhere to be seen.

When Sam and Dean returned home from school Bobby was still at court. Dean decided to make dinner while he was away so there was something for him to come home to if they lost. The reality was in fact completely different. Bobby was overjoyed with the outcome. The court ordered a protection order against John, barring him from going anywhere near the brothers for at least five years; he’s also facing one years imprisonment. Bobby was also granted full custody over Sam and Dean. Finally something went right.

***

Dean got his mark back for his essay. Henricksen was reluctant to give back the mark. Dean and Cas were sitting side by side, Dean tapped a rhythm on the desk until Cas placed his hand over Deans to make him stop. Dean was nervous as hell. What if he failed? When Henricksen walked into the room Dean sat bolt upright. “Alright. I’ve got your marks on the Gatsby essays. I must have been drunk when I was marking most of these because I think only two people actually failed.” Dean’s foot then began to bob up and down as Henricksen walked around the class, handing back the papers.

“It’s Ok, Dean. You did great,” Cas tried to reassure him. Dean gave him a smile, which probably looked more like a grimace. By the time, Henricksen reached them, Dean was sweating. Maybe he little performance handing it in was a little stupid. Dean was freaking out.

“Mr Novak. An A+ as usual,” Henricksen announces, throwing the paper down on Cas’ desk. Surely enough a big fat A+ was written in red at the top of the page.

“Thank you, Sir,” Cas mumbles.

“Mr Winchester. I didn’t think you’d be able to do it. But boy, was I wrong. Good work,” he threw down the paper and Dean nearly passed out. At the top of the page was written A.

“Holy shit!” Dean exclaims, “Whoops, sorry Sir,” he amends when the teacher raises an eyebrow. “but oh my God!” Dean pumps a fist in the air. “Cas I got an A!” Dean shoves the paper at Cas. “Look!” Cas laughs at Dean’s enthusiasm.

“I knew you could do it,” Cas replies, placing a kiss to Dean’s knuckles.

Dean and Cas spent every opportunity together. When they weren’t at school, they were either at Dean’s house or Cas’ house or the library or just driving in the Impala. Life was good. They had each other and nothing to worry about. John wasn’t going to bother the Winchesters anymore and now Castiel wasn’t so alone anymore.

***

When Dean and Castiel graduated from high school, Dean went off to South Dakota State University, to get his degree and just like he told Michael, to become a mechanic and do what he loves; fixing cars. Cas got accepted into Harvard as well as everywhere else he applied. Even though miles separate them, they both talk to each other every day. Whether it is by phone, skype or email.

Michael ended up throwing Lucifer out. He was bleeding the company dry. Apparently Moira was the one, because even after these few years she’s still around. Castiel isn’t quite sure where his brother is nowadays. Surviving probably.

Their father never did come back. Cas didn't really care, he was never really around much in his life anyway. Michael still searched for him. He wants an explanation as to why he left for good. Cas knows he's never going to get it.

 

Anna and Gabe went into a partnership and opened their own bakery. Which shocked Castiel to the point where he had to sit down. Apparently the irony wasn’t lost on Anna either because she then informed him that she handles the finances while Gabriel controls the actual baking. Castiel didn't even know Gabe liked baking. When he confessed this, Gabe replied with, "There are plenty of things you don't know about me little bro."

Sam still lives with Bobby and has his heart set on going to Stanford. Dean has no doubt that the little genius will be able to do it to. He and Bobby are scraping together every last penny to make that dream a reality. They've had to face enough shit thanks to John and now it was about time that Sam and Dean got something for themselves.

***

It seems that the best thing Mr Victor Henricksen ever did was blackmail the shy nerdy Castiel Novak into helping the boisterous extroverted Dean Winchester complete an essay based on The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  As much as they both complain about Henricksen, there is no one else that can be accredited for their grudging friendship born in a musty library, which bloomed into something much more. So for that, they are grateful.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and sticking with me over these few months. I love you all! Your kudo's and comments have been amazing! Thanks so much.


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